Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $99.88, but opened at $105.84. Expand Energy shares last traded at $104.42, with a volume of 832,864 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Expand Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Expand Energy from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.75.

Expand Energy Trading Up 3.7%

The firm has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.22 and a 200-day moving average of $105.46.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 7.99%. Research analysts anticipate that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expand Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Expand Energy by 161.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,959,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,695,520,000 after acquiring an additional 9,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the third quarter valued at $169,783,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Expand Energy by 862.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,256,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,542,000 after buying an additional 1,126,363 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $115,504,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Expand Energy by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,183,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,400,621,000 after buying an additional 1,014,484 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

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.