Expand Energy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:EXE)

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 11,912 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 54% compared to the typical volume of 7,713 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Marcel Teunissen bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $96.43 per share, with a total value of $192,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $881,755.92. This represents a 28.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 1,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,120. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Expand Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Expand Energy by 350.9% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Expand Energy by 379.6% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Expand Energy Stock Down 1.6%

EXE traded down $1.48 on Monday, reaching $89.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 724,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,680,328. Expand Energy has a 1 year low of $86.37 and a 1 year high of $126.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.22 and its 200 day moving average is $101.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $21.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.34.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted 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 return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 22.53%.The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Expand Energy will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Expand Energy from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. 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. William Blair lowered shares of Expand Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Expand Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.47.

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.