Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 32,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,969,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXE. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 74.6% in the 4th 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. boosted its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 350.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Expand Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Expand Energy by 379.6% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Expand Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EXE stock opened at $96.07 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.59. The company has a market cap of $22.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.34. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $84.99 and a 12-month high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 20.46%.The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Analysts expect that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on EXE. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Benchmark cut their price target on Expand Energy from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Expand Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Expand Energy from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Expand Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.67.

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.