Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Stock Price Up 2.8% - Still a Buy?

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 2.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $107.40 and last traded at $108.52. Approximately 363,496 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,768,149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a report on Friday, January 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $121.00 price objective for the company. Stephens raised Chesapeake Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James started coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.12.

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Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $24.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.27 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $103.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy Corporation will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Chesapeake Energy's payout ratio is presently -55.83%.

Insider Activity at Chesapeake Energy

In other Chesapeake Energy news, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $99.50 per share, with a total value of $248,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,730,577.50. This represents a 2.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate 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.