56,236 Shares in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE Purchased by Core Capital Management & Research inc.

Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new stake in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 56,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,406,000. Expand Energy makes up about 2.8% of Core Capital Management & Research inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its stake in Expand Energy by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 77,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,523,000 after purchasing an additional 15,904 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Expand Energy by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 239,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,443,000 after buying an additional 34,132 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Expand Energy by 36,574.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,420,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,172,000 after buying an additional 2,414,311 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,739,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,778,004,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EXE shares. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Expand Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $99.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. This trade represents a 1.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Expand Energy Stock Down 1.6%

EXE opened at $96.62 on Thursday. Expand Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $84.99 and a 1 year high of $126.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $93.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.34.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.20. Expand Energy had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Expand Energy’s payout ratio is presently 19.86%.

About Expand Energy

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: EXE) is an independent energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company’s operations are concentrated in major U.S. shale basins, including the Marcellus and Haynesville formations, and its products support domestic electricity generation, industrial activity and liquefied natural gas exports.

Expand Energy was created through the combination of Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Southwestern Energy Company.