Chesapeake Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:EXE)

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 7,305 call options on the company. This is an increase of 10% compared to the average volume of 6,616 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $99.50 per share, with a total value of $248,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 58.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on EXE shares. TD Cowen began coverage on Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $133.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Citigroup upped their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Chesapeake Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.00.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ EXE traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $107.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,142,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,788,370. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $103.22. Chesapeake Energy has a 12 month low of $81.66 and a 12 month high of $109.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.36 and a beta of 0.53.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 2.74% and a net margin of 6.07%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.