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

Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.94.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Friday, January 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

EXE opened at $96.03 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.06. The company has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.28 and a beta of 0.53. Chesapeake Energy has a 12 month low of $81.66 and a 12 month high of $109.47. 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 (NASDAQ:EXE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is currently -55.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chesapeake Energy news, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $99.50 per share, with a total value of $248,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,730,577.50. The trade was a 2.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 58.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.