Analysts Set Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Price Target at $131.17

Shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $131.2727.

Several analysts have issued reports on EXE shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Expand Energy from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Expand Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Expand Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th.

Insider Activity at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $107.50 per share, for a total transaction of $215,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 83,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,976,035. This represents a 2.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expand Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 161.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,959,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,695,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,856,576 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 36,574.9% during 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. grew its position in Expand Energy by 192.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,286,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,979 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new position in Expand Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $169,783,000. Finally, Dragoneer Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $145,633,000. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Expand Energy Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ EXE opened at $107.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.41. Expand Energy has a 12 month low of $91.01 and a 12 month high of $126.62. The company has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.23 and a beta of 0.47.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 8.17%. Equities research analysts expect that Expand Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.50%.

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.