Hodges Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management increased its stake in Expand Energy by 16.5% in Q1, adding 18,980 shares to reach 134,062 shares valued at about $14.7 million.
• Expand Energy reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.83 versus estimates of $3.61 and revenue of $4.40 billion versus $3.53 billion expected.
• The company remains backed by strong institutional ownership and a generally positive analyst outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $132.47, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) by 16.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 134,062 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,980 shares during the period. Expand Energy makes up 1.2% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Expand Energy worth $14,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EXE. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Expand Energy by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,251,283 shares of the company's stock worth $2,345,303,000 after purchasing an additional 5,291,948 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Expand Energy by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,183,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,400,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,484 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Expand Energy by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,359,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $463,140,000 after purchasing an additional 619,001 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Expand Energy by 192.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,286,361 shares of the company's stock worth $362,683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,979 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Expand Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,183,177 shares of the company's stock worth $351,296,000 after purchasing an additional 138,381 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE opened at $90.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business's fifty day moving average price is $93.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.33. The stock has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.34. Expand Energy Corporation has a one year low of $86.37 and a one year high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 22.53%. On average, analysts forecast that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Expand Energy's payout ratio is presently 17.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EXE. William Blair cut Expand Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $134.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Expand Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays downgraded Expand Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.47.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In other news, CFO Marcel Teunissen acquired 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $96.43 per share, with a total value of $192,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 9,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $881,755.92. This represents a 28.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 1,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. This trade represents a 1.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,120. 0.22% of the stock is 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.

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