Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Stock Rating Upgraded by KeyCorp

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) was upgraded by KeyCorp from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $130.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.08% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on EXE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy from $137.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Chesapeake Energy from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Chesapeake Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $115.00 to $122.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chesapeake Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $123.11.

Chesapeake Energy Price Performance

Shares of EXE opened at $106.49 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.36 and its 200-day moving average is $99.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.73 and a beta of 0.44. Chesapeake Energy has a one year low of $81.66 and a one year high of $114.03. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 2.74% and a net margin of 6.07%. Equities analysts anticipate that Chesapeake Energy will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Chesapeake Energy

In other Chesapeake Energy news, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $99.50 per share, with a total value of $248,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 107,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,730,577.50. This represents a 2.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 58.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chesapeake Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $127,038,000. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in Chesapeake Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,592,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $36,507,000. Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,283,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy in the 1st quarter worth $18,777,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

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.