Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Shares Up 2.8% – Should You Buy?

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) rose 2.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $107.40 and last traded at $108.52. Approximately 363,496 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,768,149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $115.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $127.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Chesapeake Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $86.00 to $123.00 in a report on Tuesday. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.00.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.01 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $103.42. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 2.74% and a net margin of 6.07%. Research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy Corporation will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

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 $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Chesapeake Energy’s payout ratio is -55.83%.

Insider Transactions at Chesapeake Energy

In related news, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of Chesapeake Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $99.50 per share, for a total transaction of $248,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,730,577.50. This trade represents a 2.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 58.00% of the company’s stock.

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.