Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 2.74%.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of EXE traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.54. 863,994 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,904,657. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. Chesapeake Energy has a 52-week low of $69.12 and a 52-week high of $109.47. The company has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.13 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.81.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on EXE shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $127.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.41.

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.