Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Upgraded at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Expand Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Expand Energy from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Expand Energy from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price objective on Expand Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Expand Energy from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $131.48.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Expand Energy stock opened at $113.92 on Monday. Expand Energy has a 1 year low of $91.01 and a 1 year high of $126.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $106.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.70. The company has a market cap of $27.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.47.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.11. Expand Energy had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Expand Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.50%.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $107.50 per share, with a total value of $215,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,976,035. This trade represents a 2.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Expand Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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. increased its position in shares of Expand Energy by 350.9% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Expand Energy by 890.0% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Expand Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist initiated coverage with a buy recommendation. Truist started coverage of EXE, signaling analyst conviction on the company’s assets and outlook. Truist initiates coverage (MSN)
• Positive Sentiment: Truist set a $136 price target / buy rating (~19% upside). The new $136 target and “buy” / “strong-buy” language gives a clear near-term upside case and helps explain the stock’s upward move. Benzinga coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst write-ups emphasize value in the company’s gas assets. Follow-up analyst commentary (Investing.com) highlights the rationale behind Truist’s buy call and the asset-level drivers that support the thesis. Analyst note on gas assets (Investing.com)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports are inconsistent and likely erroneous / non-actionable. Multiple filings cite a “large increase” in short interest but show 0 shares and NaN changes — the data appears corrupted or misreported, so it shouldn’t be treated as a genuine short-pressure signal at this time.
• Neutral Sentiment: Media piece asks whether EXE is underperforming the sector. A sector-comparison article raises performance questions; it’s worth reading for relative-risk context but doesn’t contradict the immediate analyst-driven rebound. Is EXE underperforming? (MSN)

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.