Stephens Has Lowered Expectations for Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Stock Price

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) had its price target lowered by Stephens from $123.00 to $118.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $119.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised shares of Chesapeake Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $133.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chesapeake Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.71.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EXE stock opened at $106.49 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $24.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.73 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $104.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.03. Chesapeake Energy has a one year low of $81.66 and a one year high of $114.03.

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

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -55.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $99.50 per share, with a total value 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 represents 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $127,038,000. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at $43,592,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at about $36,507,000. Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter worth about $35,283,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter worth about $18,777,000. 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.