Chesapeake Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:EXE)

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 7,305 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 10% compared to the average volume of 6,616 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,845 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 58.00% of the company’s stock.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Chesapeake Energy stock traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $107.51. 3,142,188 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,788,370. The company has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.36 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $103.22. Chesapeake Energy has a 1 year low of $81.66 and a 1 year high of $109.47. 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 (NASDAQ:EXE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 2.74% and a net margin of 6.07%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Research analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -55.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $133.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Friday, January 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.00.

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.