Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $129.50.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $115.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. KeyCorp set a $135.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $93.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expand Energy

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

Expand Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE traded up $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,659,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,366,736. Expand Energy has a 12-month low of $81.66 and a 12-month high of $123.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.70 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.45.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.10 billion. Expand Energy had a positive return on equity of 4.64% and a negative net margin of 18.49%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Expand Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently -42.91%.

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.