Royal Bank of Canada Increases Stake in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) by 29.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 413,927 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,767 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Expand Energy were worth $45,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXE. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,251,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,345,303,000 after purchasing an additional 5,291,948 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,183,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,400,621,000 after buying an additional 1,014,484 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 94.7% during 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 buying an additional 2,188,422 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,359,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,140,000 after buying an additional 619,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE opened at $94.03 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.98 and a 200 day moving average of $98.74. The stock has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 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 company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Expand Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. William Blair lowered Expand Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays cut Expand Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Expand Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Expand Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Expand Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat estimates: Expand Energy reported adjusted earnings of $1.33 per share, above the $1.13 consensus estimate. Higher production and lower operating costs helped offset weaker revenue and natural-gas prices. Expand Energy Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Production
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support strengthened: Truist raised its price target from $117 to $121 and maintained a Buy rating, while Morgan Stanley and UBS also reiterated or issued Buy ratings. These targets imply substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. Truist Raises Expand Energy Price Target Morgan Stanley Keeps Their Buy Rating on Expand Energy Expand Energy Receives a Buy from UBS
• Positive Sentiment: Growth strategy gains traction: The acquisition of Twin Eagle Holdings expands Expand Energy’s gas-marketing platform and could improve access to LNG, power and industrial customers. Management also retained its full-year production target and highlighted the potential for a larger buyback authorization. Expand Energy Sticks to Full-Year Production Goal Expand Energy Agrees to Buy Twin Eagle Holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays maintained a Hold rating, indicating that some analysts remain cautious despite the earnings beat and strategic expansion. Barclays Keeps Their Hold Rating on Expand Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Lower natural-gas prices, weaker quarterly revenue versus expectations and potential infrastructure constraints remain risks to near-term cash flow and the pace of growth.

Expand Energy 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.