Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 11,637 Shares of Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 981,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,637 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.41% of Expand Energy worth $107,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EXE. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Expand Energy by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,251,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,345,303,000 after buying an additional 5,291,948 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 36,574.9% during 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 buying an additional 2,414,311 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Expand Energy by 192.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,286,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,683,000 after buying an additional 2,160,979 shares during the period. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the 4th quarter worth $145,633,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Expand Energy by 862.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,256,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126,363 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expand Energy news, CFO Marcel Teunissen purchased 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $96.43 per share, for a total transaction of $192,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $881,755.92. This trade represents a 28.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 85,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,600,772.20. This represents a 1.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,120 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Expand Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of EXE stock opened at $87.63 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.34. Expand Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $84.99 and a 12-month high of $126.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.18.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 22.53%. Equities research analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EXE shares. William Blair lowered Expand Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Expand Energy from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays downgraded Expand Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $134.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Expand Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.88.

About Expand Energy

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.