Lazard Asset Management LLC Makes New $1.48 Million Investment in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,484,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EXE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,599,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the second quarter worth $757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EXE shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. William Blair lowered shares of Expand Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays cut shares of Expand Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Expand Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Expand Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.00.

Expand Energy Stock Down 1.7%

EXE stock opened at $93.07 on Wednesday. Expand Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $84.99 and a twelve month high of $126.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.62.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 10.33%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Expand Energy’s payout ratio is presently 19.86%.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In related news, CFO Marcel Teunissen bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $96.43 per share, for a total transaction of $192,860.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 9,144 shares in the company, valued at $881,755.92. This trade represents a 28.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 1,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,120. Company insiders own 0.22% 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.