Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Upgraded at KeyCorp

KeyCorp upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. KeyCorp currently has $130.00 price objective on the stock.

EXE has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $137.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays raised shares of Chesapeake Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $133.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $123.11.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $102.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.11 and a beta of 0.44. Chesapeake Energy has a fifty-two week low of $81.66 and a fifty-two week high of $114.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.30.

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

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -55.83%.

Insider Activity

In other Chesapeake Energy news, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $99.50 per share, with a total value of $248,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,845 shares in the company, valued at $10,730,577.50. The trade was a 2.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 58.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $127,038,000. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter worth $43,592,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter worth $36,507,000. Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,283,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter worth about $28,130,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

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.