Chesapeake Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:EXE)

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 4,961 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 33% compared to the average daily volume of 3,729 call options.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE opened at $100.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Chesapeake Energy has a 12-month low of $69.12 and a 12-month high of $101.27. The company has a market cap of $23.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.33 and a beta of 0.46.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $648.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.98 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 2.74% and a net margin of 6.07%. The company’s revenue was down 57.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 141.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.20.

About Chesapeake Energy

Expand Energy Corporation is an independent natural gas producer principally in the United States. Expand Energy Corporation, formerly known as Chesapeake Energy Corporation, is based in OKLAHOMA CITY.