Investors Buy Large Volume of Chesapeake Energy Put Options (NASDAQ:CHK)

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 4,239 put options on the company. This is an increase of 62% compared to the average volume of 2,613 put options.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $74.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.79. Chesapeake Energy has a 12-month low of $69.12 and a 12-month high of $93.58. The company has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.46.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 4.00% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $505.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $822.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 73.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $111.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stephens lifted their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $93.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Chesapeake Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.92.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHK. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 90.8% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

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.