Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE)

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 10,834 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 69% compared to the typical volume of 6,415 put options.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXE opened at $103.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Expand Energy has a fifty-two week low of $91.01 and a fifty-two week high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Expand Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EXE. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $136.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Expand Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $145.00 to $144.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.48.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $107.50 per share, for a total transaction of $215,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,498 shares in the company, valued at $8,976,035. This represents a 2.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Expand Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXE. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in Expand Energy by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 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 during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Expand Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Expand Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in Expand Energy by 890.0% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.