Hsbc Holdings PLC Reduces Stake in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• HSBC reduced its stake in Expand Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,929 shares and ending with 358,265 shares valued at about $39.5 million.
• Insiders were buying shares: CFO Marcel Teunissen bought 2,000 shares and CEO Michael Wichterich bought 1,000 shares, bringing total insider purchases over the last 90 days to 4,000 shares.
• Analysts remain cautious but constructive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.45, even after several recent downgrades from firms including Barclays and William Blair.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its holdings in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 358,265 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,929 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.15% of Expand Energy worth $39,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXE. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in Expand Energy by 74.6% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 234 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Expand Energy by 350.9% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Expand Energy in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Expand Energy by 890.0% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 297 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Expand Energy by 564.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, CFO Marcel Teunissen bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 28.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.90 per share, with a total value of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 4,000 shares of company stock worth $375,120. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EXE. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $112.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays lowered shares of Expand Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Expand Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. William Blair downgraded Expand Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.45.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EXE stock opened at $88.73 on Wednesday. Expand Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $86.37 and a 12 month high of $126.62. The stock has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a PE ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's fifty day moving average price is $94.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.88.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 10.26%. On average, equities analysts expect that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is 17.15%.

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.

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