Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Makes New $1.10 Million Investment in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. acquired 9,856 shares of Expand Energy Corporation, valued at approximately $1,097,000, in the first quarter of the year.
• CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares for a total of $239,650, indicating insider confidence as he now holds a total of 166,715 shares valued at about $15.98 million.
• Expand Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.4%, while also reporting a P/E ratio of 242.72 after missing earnings estimates.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. acquired a new position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,097,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth about $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owned 166,715 shares in the company, valued at $15,981,299.90. The trade was a 1.52% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Joshua J. Viets acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.16 per share, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 61,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,684,060.16. This represents a 3.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Expand Energy Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of EXE stock traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $96.91. 619,232 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,725,616. The stock has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 248.33 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's fifty day moving average is $104.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.73. Expand Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $69.12 and a 52-week high of $123.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EXE. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Capital One Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $150.00 to $148.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 target price on shares of Expand Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expand Energy has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.42.

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.