Ameriprise Financial Inc. Takes Position in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has acquired a significant stake in Expand Energy Corporation, purchasing 1,198,586 shares valued at approximately $134 million, increasing its holdings to about 0.50% of the company.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Expand Energy, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target averaging $127.42, including two Strong Buy ratings and two Hold ratings.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.575 with a yield of 2.4%, despite having a notably high dividend payout ratio of 589.74%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,198,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $134,183,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.50% of Expand Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXE. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at $3,757,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at $1,179,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at $210,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at $1,383,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at $75,000. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Expand Energy Price Performance

EXE stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 391,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,715,956. The stock has a market cap of $23.12 billion, a PE ratio of 248.73 and a beta of 0.46. 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 fifty-two week low of $69.12 and a fifty-two week high of $123.35. The company's 50 day moving average is $103.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.68.

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

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Expand Energy's payout ratio is 589.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Expand Energy from $127.00 to $125.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Expand Energy to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank cut their price objective on Expand Energy from $142.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $127.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expand Energy

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

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.