Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes $62.91 Million Position in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. has acquired 537,978 shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE), valued at approximately $62.91 million, indicating a growing interest from institutional investors, who now own 97.93% of the company's stock.
• Expand Energy reported a quarterly earnings miss with $1.10 EPS against analyst expectations of $1.14, while revenue was substantially higher at $3.69 billion compared to the $2.09 billion consensus estimate.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, reflecting a high dividend payout ratio of 589.74%, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 537,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,911,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.23% of Expand Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXE. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $2,973,033,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,310,932,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth about $701,831,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $624,083,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at about $518,328,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $121.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Capital One Financial lowered their target price on Expand Energy from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Tudor Pickering & Holt decreased their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $119.00 to $118.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $146.00) on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Expand Energy from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $127.46.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXE traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.80. 1,603,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,693,381. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $98.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a PE ratio of 257.62 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Expand Energy Corporation has a one year low of $77.41 and a one year high of $123.35.

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

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 bought at an average cost of $95.86 per share, with a total value of $239,650.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 166,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,981,299.90. This represents a 1.52% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Joshua J. Viets bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $92.16 per share, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 61,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,684,060.16. This trade represents 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 corporate 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.