Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 5,990,844 shares, a drop of 17.8% from the February 12th total of 7,285,730 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,631,999 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 4,631,999 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on EXE. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price objective on Expand Energy in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Expand Energy from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Stephens raised their price target on Expand Energy from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Expand Energy from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Expand Energy from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expand Energy

In other news, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $107.50 per share, with a total value of $215,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,976,035. This represents a 2.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Expand Energy by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 350.9% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Expand Energy by 890.0% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Expand Energy Price Performance

EXE stock opened at $106.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.28. Expand Energy has a 1 year low of $91.01 and a 1 year high of $126.62. The stock has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11 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 (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 15.00%. Equities analysts forecast that Expand Energy will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 30.50%.

Expand 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.