Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) Short Interest Down 7.0% in August

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,530,000 shares, a decline of 7.0% from the July 31st total of 22,080,000 shares. Currently, 18.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 12.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CHK shares. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.17.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CHK stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $74.49. 1,670,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,862,146. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.64 and a 200 day moving average of $83.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Chesapeake Energy has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $93.58. The firm has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.47.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $505.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $822.54 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 4.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 73.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. Analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Chesapeake Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 233.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,059,644 shares of the company's stock worth $804,769,000 after purchasing an additional 6,338,963 shares during the period. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC lifted its position in Chesapeake Energy by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC now owns 3,694,879 shares of the company's stock worth $303,682,000 after acquiring an additional 827,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,333,769 shares of the company's stock worth $274,005,000 after acquiring an additional 510,664 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 247.9% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 687,954 shares of the company's stock worth $56,543,000 after purchasing an additional 490,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,079,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It engages in acquisition, exploration, and development of properties to produce oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. The company holds interests in natural gas resource plays in the Marcellus Shale in the northern Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and the Haynesville/Bossier Shales in northwestern Louisiana.