Aperture Investors LLC Makes New Investment in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Aperture Investors LLC acquired a stake of 17,310 shares in Expand Energy Corporation, valued at approximately $1.93 million.
• Expand Energy will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share on September 4th, amounting to an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Expand Energy, with an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.42.

Aperture Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 17,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,927,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pennant Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $20,038,000. Corsair Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $263,000. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $2,714,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $579,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $20,020,000. 97.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on Expand Energy from $150.00 to $146.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Expand Energy from $121.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Tudor Pickering & Holt decreased their target price on Expand Energy from $119.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Expand Energy from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $127.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.86 per share, for a total transaction of $239,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 166,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,981,299.90. The trade was a 1.52% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Joshua J. Viets purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer 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. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Expand Energy Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Expand Energy stock traded down $1.94 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.27. The stock had a trading volume of 992,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,702,111. The company has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 246.63 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $102.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.52. Expand Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $69.12 and a 52 week high of $123.35. 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 (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.10 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 firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 589.74%.

About Expand Energy

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.