Energy Stocks: Energy stocks down, Chesapeake gains on CEO exit

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) � Energy stocks turned lower on Wednesday, with Chesapeake Energy Corp. holding on to gains on news its embattled chief executive announced his retirement.

Shares of Chesapeake CHK ended 6% higher, having rallied more than 10% in early trading. The natural gas producer announced late Tuesday that Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon has agreed to retire on April 1.

Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon is retiring April 1

McClendon, a co-founder of the Oklahoma City-based company, stepped down as chairman last year amid allegations of conflict of interest. An investigation cleared him, but �the time has come for the company to select a new leader,� Chesapeake said.

Refiner Phillips 66 PSX also topped gainers on Wednesday, on the heels of a fourth-quarter profit decline. The company, however, raised its annual dividend by 25% and added a share buyback. Shares rose 1.5%.

Phillips 66 reported a profit of $708 million, or $1.11 a share, down from $2.01 billion, or $3.17 a share, a year earlier. Excluding write-downs and other items, earnings were up at $2.06 from 60 cents. Revenue decreased 11% to $44.67 billion on fewer asset-sale gains. Analysts projected per-share earnings around $1.68.

/quotes/zigman/185808/quotes/nls/pxd PXD 116.21, -1.16, -0.99% Pioneer Natural Resources Co.

Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. PXD declined 1%. The company has agreed to sell 40% of its stake in the Wolfcamp shale field in Texas� Permian Basin to Chinese conglomerate Sinochem Group for $1.7 billion, a move Pioneer said will accelerate development in the area.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. MPC shares rose 1.3% after the company posted fourth-quarter results that beat analyst expectations. The company reported a profit of $755 million, or $2.24 a share, compared with a loss of $75 million, or 21 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items such as pension settlement expenses, per-share earnings were $2.26. Analysts expected per-share results of $2.10.

Marathon Petroleum�s sales and revenue were up 6.5% year over year to $20.68 billion.

Shares of Hess Corp. HES were down 0.4%, after a two-day rally on Elliott Management�s push for a company shake-up and the announcement of asset sales.

Enlarge Image Hess Corp. Port Reading refinery and terminal in New Jersey

Hess on Wednesday reported a profit of $566 million, or $1.66 a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $131 million, or 39 cents a share.

Revenue increased 9.9% to $9.7 billion. Analysts expected earnings around $1.20 a share on revenue of $9.63 billion.

Hess was in the headlines Monday and Tuesday after it said it was planning to sell a New Jersey refinery and other assets. On Tuesday, the hedge fund sent a scathing letter to Hess shareholders calling for more changes at the oil and gas company and more focus on exploration.

Big Oil shares were also among the day�s laggards, with Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM down 1.2%. Macquarie has cut Exxon Mobil shares to neutral from outperform, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Rival Chevron Corp. CVX was down 0.7%. ConocoPhillips COP shares were off 0.9%.

ConocoPhillips is slated to report fourth-quarter results later Wednesday. The company is seen reporting earnings of $1.42 a share, down from $1.54 a share in the same quarter of 2011, on revenue of nearly $12.7 billion.

Exxon and Chevron are expected to report Feb. 1, with Exxon seen posting a profit of $1.99 a share, up 2 cents from $1.97 a share in the same period of 2011. Revenue for the quarter is seen slipping to $117 billion from $121 billion.

Chevron is expected to report earnings of $3.07 per share, up from $2.58 a share a year earlier, on $68.3 billion in revenue.

The SPDR Energy Select Sector XLE , an exchange fund focused on energy names, declined 0.5%. Crude-oil futures CLH3 rose 0.4% at $97.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.