Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $120.71.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EXE shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stephens raised shares of Chesapeake Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $115.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $133.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EXE opened at $110.94 on Friday. Chesapeake Energy has a 52 week low of $81.66 and a 52 week high of $111.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.48 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $104.12.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 2.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -55.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $99.50 per share, for a total transaction of $248,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,730,577.50. This trade represents a 2.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 58.00% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Energy Company Profile

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.