Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $99.20.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EXE. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Roth Capital upgraded Chesapeake Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EXE traded down $3.98 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,600,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,040,281. Chesapeake Energy has a fifty-two week low of $69.12 and a fifty-two week high of $93.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $378.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $556.35 million. Chesapeake Energy had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 4.00%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Chesapeake Energy's payout ratio is currently 77.70%.

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.