Chesapeake Shares Rise on Production Forecast, Profit Beat

   By Micah Maidenberg

Investors are bidding up shares in Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) after the fracking company's adjusted profit at the end of the year beat Wall Street predictions and its forecast for 2019 proved stronger than expected.

The Oklahoma City-based company's stock rose 6% to $2.82 a share in heavy morning trading Wednesday.

Chesapeake reported an adjusted profit of 21 cents a share, a figure that excludes oil and gas-related hedging gains and losses on the sale of oil and gas properties. Analysts had expected 18 cents a share.

Investors are also helping lift the stock price because the company expects to produce roughly 119,200 barrels of oil a day at the midpoint, according analysts at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. That beat expectations of 118,300 barrels a day.

Also helping the stock today: even though the production forecast is expected to rise more than expectations, the company said that capital spending will be flat in 2019 compared with 2018, when it spent $2.37 billion.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2019 10:18 ET (15:18 GMT)

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