Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Grows Position in Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK)

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK - Free Report) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 809,963 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 93,162 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC owned 0.62% of Chesapeake Energy worth $62,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the third quarter worth about $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Chesapeake Energy by 1,207.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 680 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.83.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

CHK stock traded down $1.18 on Friday, hitting $87.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,259,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,741,734. Chesapeake Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $72.84 and a 12-month high of $93.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $87.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.14. The stock has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.51.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.08). Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.87% and a net margin of 16.42%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $674.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a boost from Chesapeake Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Chesapeake Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.00%.

Chesapeake Energy Profile

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.