Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) COO Buys $184,320.00 in Stock

Key Points

• COO Joshua J. Viets of Expand Energy Corporation purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock for a total of $184,320, which increased his ownership by 3.35% to a total of 61,676 shares.
• Expand Energy reported earnings of $1.10 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates of $1.14, although revenue exceeded expectations at $3.69 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, with an annual yield of 2.5%, and a payout ratio of 589.74%.

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) COO Joshua J. Viets purchased 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $92.16 per share, with a total value of $184,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 61,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,684,060.16. The trade was a 3.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Expand Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ EXE traded down $1.87 during trading on Monday, reaching $93.26. 1,355,476 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,761,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $107.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.27. The company has a market cap of $22.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 239.05 and a beta of 0.46. Expand Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $69.12 and a 1-year high of $123.35.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 5.76%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is 589.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expand Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXE. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,973,033,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new stake in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,310,932,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $701,831,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $624,083,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $518,328,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXE. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Expand Energy from $127.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Siebert Williams Shank dropped their price objective on Expand Energy from $142.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Expand Energy from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on Expand Energy from $150.00 to $146.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Expand Energy to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $127.92.

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.

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