104,942 Shares in Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 104,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,682,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EXE. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,507,000. Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $286,000. Doliver Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $446,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $466,000. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised Chesapeake Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $123.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Chesapeake Energy to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $115.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.79.

Chesapeake Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $117.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,536,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,389,924. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.44 and a beta of 0.49. Chesapeake Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $81.66 and a 12-month high of $120.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.57.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 2.74% and a net margin of 6.07%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chesapeake Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Chesapeake Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -42.91%.

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.