Viking Fund Management LLC Invests $1.17 Million in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Viking Fund Management LLC acquired 10,000 shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: EXE), valued at approximately $1.17 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Expand Energy reported earnings of $1.10 EPS for the last quarter, falling short of expectations, but achieved revenue of $3.69 billion, exceeding analyst forecasts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, with a staggering dividend payout ratio of 589.74%, reflecting strong cash flow challenges.

Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new position in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXE. Bernstein Bank decreased their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $150.00 to $146.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho set a $136.00 price target on Expand Energy in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on Expand Energy from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Capital One Financial cut their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $105.00 to $101.00 in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $146.00) on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.46.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EXE traded up $1.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.13. 1,091,065 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,690,830. The company has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 256.73 and a beta of 0.46. Expand Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $77.41 and a twelve month high of $123.35. The business's 50-day moving average price is $98.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 589.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.86 per share, with a total value of $239,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 166,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,981,299.90. The trade was a 1.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joshua J. Viets acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $92.16 per share, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.