Expand Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:EXE)

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 12,462 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 48% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,406 put options.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $94.95. The stock had a trading volume of 722,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,745,819. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.74. Expand Energy has a fifty-two week low of $84.99 and a fifty-two week high of $126.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $21.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 0.34.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 10.33%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Expand Energy will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Marcel Teunissen bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $96.43 per share, with a total value of $192,860.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 9,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $881,755.92. This represents a 28.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,120 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expand Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in Expand Energy by 74.6% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Expand Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Expand Energy by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Expand Energy by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXE has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Expand Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Expand Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Expand Energy from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Expand Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

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.