Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $131.4545.

Several research analysts have issued reports on EXE shares. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $112.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Expand Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $134.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. William Blair downgraded shares of Expand Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th.

Expand Energy Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Expand Energy stock opened at $93.59 on Friday. Expand Energy has a 1 year low of $91.01 and a 1 year high of $126.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $100.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.49.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.22. Expand Energy had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Analysts forecast that Expand Energy will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $107.50 per share, for a total transaction of $215,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 83,498 shares in the company, valued at $8,976,035. This represents a 2.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Marcel Teunissen acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $96.43 per share, with a total value of $192,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,144 shares in the company, valued at $881,755.92. The trade was a 28.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expand Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXE. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Expand Energy by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 120,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,838,000 after acquiring an additional 13,670 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Expand Energy by 513.9% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 36,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,908,000 after acquiring an additional 30,790 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in Expand Energy by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 30,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,272,000 after acquiring an additional 11,428 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Expand Energy by 36,574.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,420,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,414,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Expand Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,103,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.