Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Has $45.09 Million Stake in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 410,720 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,300 shares during the period. Expand Energy makes up about 1.6% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Expand Energy were worth $45,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,251,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,345,303,000 after buying an additional 5,291,948 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Expand Energy by 36,574.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,420,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414,311 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Expand Energy by 192.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,286,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,979 shares during the period. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $145,633,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Expand Energy by 862.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,256,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EXE shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Expand Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $134.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.78.

Insider Activity at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Marcel Teunissen purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $96.43 per share, with a total value of $192,860.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $881,755.92. The trade was a 28.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,120 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE opened at $87.10 on Tuesday. Expand Energy Corporation has a one year low of $84.99 and a one year high of $126.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.49.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.22. Expand Energy had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Research analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Expand Energy’s payout ratio is 17.15%.

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.