BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Takes Position in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• British Columbia Investment Management Corp has acquired a new position in Expand Energy Corporation, purchasing 39,775 shares valued at approximately $4.43 million.
• Expand Energy reported $1.10 earnings per share for the latest quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14, despite revenue exceeding expectations at $3.69 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.30 and a yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio currently at 589.74%.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 39,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,428,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EXE. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth $36,507,000. Parallel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth $286,000. Doliver Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth $446,000. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth $466,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, COO Joshua J. Viets purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.16 per share, for a total transaction of $184,320.00. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was acquired 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 approximately $15,981,299.90. The trade was a 1.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $150.00 to $146.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $121.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Expand Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $127.42.

Expand Energy Stock Down 0.5%

EXE stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,493,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,722,899. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $69.12 and a twelve month high of $123.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $103.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 248.16 and a beta of 0.46.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.