Chesapeake Energy’s (EXE) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $86.00 price target on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup upped their target price on 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 lifted their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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 target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.94.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Chesapeake Energy stock opened at $96.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.41 and a beta of 0.53. Chesapeake Energy has a one year low of $81.66 and a one year high of $109.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is presently -55.83%.

Insider Transactions at Chesapeake Energy

In other 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 price of $99.50 per share, for a total transaction of $248,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,730,577.50. This represents a 2.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.