Chesapeake boosts profit

Article Excerpt

CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $3.23 (New York symbol CHK; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (405-848-8000; www.chk.com; Shares outstanding: 909.2 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; No dividends paid) is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. and its 12th largest producer of oil and gas liquids. The company has sold off non-core assets to focus on its low-risk, high-return properties. Those moves have cut its operating costs. They’ve also helped lead Chesapeake to a profit of $0.30 a share for the quarter ended December 31, 2017. It made $0.07 a year ago. The company’s long-term debt of $10.0 billion remains a high 3.4 times its $2.9 billion market cap. That adds risk. However, most of that debt is at fixed interest rates, which reduces Chesapeake’s exposure to rising rates. Chesapeake Energy is still a buy. buy. …