Investors Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE)

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 15,106 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 71% compared to the average volume of 8,828 put options.

Expand Energy Stock Down 2.1%

EXE traded down $1.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $86.78. 979,938 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,577,465. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.34. Expand Energy has a 1 year low of $84.99 and a 1 year high of $126.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.20. Expand Energy had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Expand Energy will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $0.5750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Expand Energy’s payout ratio is 19.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on EXE shares. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Expand Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Expand Energy from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.42.

Institutional Trading of Expand Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXE. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Expand Energy by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,251,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,345,303,000 after purchasing an additional 5,291,948 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Expand Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,778,004,000. Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its position in Expand Energy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 5,237,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,970,000 after purchasing an additional 175,114 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Expand Energy by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,498,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Expand Energy by 192.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,286,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160,979 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

About Expand Energy

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: EXE) is an independent energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company’s operations are concentrated in major U.S. shale basins, including the Marcellus and Haynesville formations, and its products support domestic electricity generation, industrial activity and liquefied natural gas exports.

Expand Energy was created through the combination of Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Southwestern Energy Company.