Expand Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:EXE)

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 21,936 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 170% compared to the typical volume of 8,113 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.90 per share, with a total value of $88,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. This represents a 1.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Marcel Teunissen bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $96.43 per share, with a total value of $192,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $881,755.92. This represents a 28.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,120. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expand Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Expand Energy by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Expand Energy during the second quarter worth about $234,000. Polianta Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 21.8% during the second quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 17,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 8.1% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 38,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 5.0% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXE opened at $87.81 on Wednesday. Expand Energy has a twelve month low of $84.99 and a twelve month high of $126.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.34.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 22.53%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Expand Energy will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXE has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Expand Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $134.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays downgraded shares of Expand Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Expand Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.78.

Expand Energy Company Profile

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.