Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $126.8889.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EXE shares. Freedom Broker raised Expand Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered Expand Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Expand Energy from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Johnson Rice lowered shares of Expand Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

Expand Energy stock opened at $97.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Expand Energy has a 12-month low of $84.99 and a 12-month high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.20. Expand Energy had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Expand Energy will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 19.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.90 per share, with a total value of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. This trade represents a 1.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Expand Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXE. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Expand Energy by 74.6% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Expand Energy by 379.6% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Expand Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.