Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 420,508 Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 420,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,811,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.18% of Expand Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at $1,179,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,383,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $75,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,538,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp set a $135.00 price target on Expand Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Expand Energy from $133.00 to $131.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. TD Cowen raised shares of Expand Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Expand Energy from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Expand Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $129.25.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EXE stock traded down $2.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.38. 4,017,851 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,374,158. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. Expand Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $81.66 and a 12 month high of $123.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $114.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a PE ratio of -19.85 and a beta of 0.48.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.17. Expand Energy had a negative net margin of 18.49% and a positive return on equity of 4.64%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. On average, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently -42.91%.

Expand Energy 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.