Short Interest in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Declines By 15.0%

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,285,730 shares, a decline of 15.0% from the January 29th total of 8,573,285 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,470,061 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,470,061 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Expand Energy Trading Down 2.5%

EXE stock traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.32. 1,460,291 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,771,481. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Expand Energy has a 1-year low of $91.01 and a 1-year high of $126.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.44.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. Expand Energy had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Expand Energy will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in Expand Energy by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Expand Energy by 350.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Expand Energy by 255.6% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 256 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen raised Expand Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $145.00 to $144.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Expand Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expand Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.92.

About Expand 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.