Expand Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:EXE)

Key Points

• Expand Energy saw unusually heavy options activity on Monday, with 21,936 call contracts traded — about 170% above its typical daily volume of 8,113 calls.
• Insiders have been buying shares: CEO Michael Wichterich bought 1,000 shares and CFO Marcel Teunissen bought 2,000 shares, adding to $375,120 in insider purchases over the past three months.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $3.83 per share versus $3.61 expected and revenue of $4.40 billion versus $3.53 billion estimated, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share.

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 21,936 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 170% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,113 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares in the company, 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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Marcel Teunissen acquired 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $96.43 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 28.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,120 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expand Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Polianta Ltd raised its position in shares of Expand Energy by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 17,900 shares of the company's stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Expand Energy by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 38,365 shares of the company's stock worth $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,209,000 after purchasing an additional 3,229 shares during the period. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Expand Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Expand Energy stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $87.10. 4,019,749 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,738,429. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $92.37 and a 200-day moving average of $100.66. Expand Energy has a 12 month low of $84.99 and a 12 month high of $126.62. The company has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 10.26%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Expand Energy will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EXE shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Expand Energy from $134.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Expand Energy from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. William Blair downgraded Expand Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.78.

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.

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