Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $99.88, but opened at $105.84. Expand Energy shares last traded at $104.42, with a volume of 832,864 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on EXE. Barclays cut their price objective on Expand Energy from $139.00 to $136.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Expand Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens cut their price objective on Expand Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.75.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $112.22 and its 200 day moving average is $105.46. The stock has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 6.31%. Analysts anticipate that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. Expand Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expand Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXE. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Expand Energy during the second quarter valued at $209,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Expand Energy by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 5,234 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Expand Energy by 6.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 10.4% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 53,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,211,000 after purchasing an additional 5,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,347,000. 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.