Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Receives $131.17 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $131.2727.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $145.00 to $144.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Expand Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $107.50 per share, for a total transaction of $215,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,976,035. This represents a 2.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in Expand Energy by 74.6% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Expand Energy by 350.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Expand Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the third 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Expand Energy Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ EXE opened at $106.40 on Friday. Expand Energy has a 52-week low of $91.01 and a 52-week high of $126.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.28. 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 (NASDAQ:EXE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 15.00%.The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Expand Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Expand Energy’s payout ratio is 30.50%.

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.