Guardian Partners Inc. Takes Position in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake of 12,850 shares in Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) in Q3, valued at about $1.403 million, amid a shareholder base that is ~97.9% institutional.
• Quarterly beat and analyst bullishness: Expand Energy reported $2.00 EPS (vs. $1.89 expected) and $3.27B revenue (vs. $2.28B expected), and Wall Street’s consensus rating is "Buy" with an average target of $130.38.
• Dividend and valuation: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.575 ($2.30 annualized, ~2.2% yield); shares trade around $106.84 with a market cap of $25.68 billion and a PE of 14.17.

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,403,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Expand Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,913,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,965,510,000 after buying an additional 646,330 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Expand Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,812,172 shares of the company's stock valued at $677,029,000 after acquiring an additional 170,222 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Expand Energy by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,396,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,090,000 after acquiring an additional 740,502 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Expand Energy by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,858,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,159,000 after acquiring an additional 224,275 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,818,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,646,000 after purchasing an additional 157,363 shares in the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Expand Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Expand Energy stock opened at $106.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Expand Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $91.01 and a twelve month high of $126.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $106.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.63.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 15.00%.The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Expand Energy's payout ratio is presently 30.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EXE shares. Stephens upped their price target on Expand Energy from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $141.00 price objective on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Benchmark upped their target price on Expand Energy from $112.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Expand Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $130.38.

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.

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