Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Trading Up 5.3% – Here’s What Happened

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE)’s share price was up 5.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $110.76 and last traded at $111.0790. Approximately 2,130,732 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 3,714,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Expand Energy from $145.00 to $144.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Expand Energy from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Expand Energy from $112.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Expand Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. 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 currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Expand Energy Stock Up 3.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.47. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $105.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.27.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 15.00%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $107.50 per share, with a total value of $215,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 83,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,976,035. This trade represents a 2.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its stake in Expand Energy by 6.8% during the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC boosted its position in Expand Energy by 3.3% during the third quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in Expand Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Expand Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

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.