CHK eliminates dividend

Article Excerpt

CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $7.34 (New York symbol CHK; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-848-8000; www.chk.com; Shares outstanding: 665.1 million; Market cap: $5.2 billion; No dividends paid) has eliminated its dividend to conserve cash in the face of low oil and gas prices. The company had been paying a quarterly dividend of $0.0875 a share. The cut will save it $240 million a year. As well, Chesapeake will spend $3.5 billion to $4.0 billion on exploration and development in 2015, down from its earlier estimate of $4.0 billion to $5.0 billion. It spent $5.8 billion in 2014. The stock now trades at just 1.3 times the company’s annual cash flow of $5.52 a share, based on the latest quarter. Chesapeake is still a buy. buy…