Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Expand Energy Put Options (NASDAQ:EXE)

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 15,106 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 71% compared to the average daily volume of 8,828 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on EXE shares. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Expand Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Expand Energy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Freedom Broker raised shares of Expand Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.42.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE traded down $1.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.78. 979,938 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,577,465. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.34. Expand Energy has a 12-month low of $84.99 and a 12-month high of $126.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $93.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.61.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Expand Energy will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.5750 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.86%.

Institutional Trading of Expand Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,251,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,345,303,000 after buying an additional 5,291,948 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,778,004,000. Oaktree Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Expand Energy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 5,237,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,970,000 after purchasing an additional 175,114 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,188,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Expand Energy by 192.0% during 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. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Expand Energy

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: EXE) is an independent energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company’s operations are concentrated in major U.S. shale basins, including the Marcellus and Haynesville formations, and its products support domestic electricity generation, industrial activity and liquefied natural gas exports.

Expand Energy was created through the combination of Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Southwestern Energy Company.