Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $115.38 and last traded at $110.39, with a volume of 2654 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXE. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $93.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $123.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen raised Chesapeake Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $137.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $123.22.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Down 1.6%

The firm has a market cap of $26.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.32 and a beta of 0.46. The business's 50-day moving average is $105.31 and its 200-day moving average is $101.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.10 billion. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 2.74% and a net margin of 6.07%. On average, equities analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Chesapeake Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the company's 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 purchase, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% 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.

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