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

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.78.

EXE has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group upgraded Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $94.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $102.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Chesapeake Energy has a 12 month low of $69.12 and a 12 month high of $105.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.62.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $648.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.98 million. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 2.74% and a net margin of 6.07%. Chesapeake Energy’s revenue was down 57.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is currently 141.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Catherine A. Kehr sold 43,623 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.58, for a total transaction of $4,343,978.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $517,915.58. This trade represents a 89.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 58.00% 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.