93,264 Shares in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE Purchased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC acquired 93,264 shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: EXE), worth approximately $10.38 million, in the first quarter, joining other significant investors like Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.10 per share, missing estimates, but generated revenue of $3.69 billion, significantly exceeding expectations.
• Expand Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, set to be paid on September 4th, with a high payout ratio of 589.74%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 93,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,382,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXE. Harbour Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $28,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $29,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expand Energy

In related news, COO Joshua J. Viets acquired 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $92.16 per share, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 61,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,684,060.16. The trade was a 3.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.86 per share, for a total transaction of $239,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 166,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,981,299.90. This represents a 1.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tudor Pickering & Holt dropped their price objective on Expand Energy from $119.00 to $118.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Capital One Financial lowered their target price on Expand Energy from $105.00 to $101.00 in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Expand Energy from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Expand Energy from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Expand Energy from $121.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.42.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE traded down $0.46 on Monday, hitting $96.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,493,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,143,811. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Expand Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $69.12 and a 52-week high of $123.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $103.33 and a 200 day moving average of $106.64. The company has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 248.16 and a beta of 0.46.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Expand Energy Corporation 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 will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 589.74%.

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.