Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Holdings in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 1.04 million shares of Expand Energy in the second quarter, worth approximately $95 million and representing a 0.45% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 97.93% of the company.
• Expand Energy reported quarterly EPS of $1.33, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.13, while revenue of $2.96 billion fell short of the $3.05 billion consensus estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, or $2.30 annualized, yielding about 2.3%. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $126.89, despite several recent rating or target reductions.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,042,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,048,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.45% of Expand Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $2,599,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Expand Energy in the second quarter valued at about $757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Expand Energy Trading Up 1.5%

EXE stock opened at $98.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.14. Expand Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $84.99 and a fifty-two week high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.20. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 20.46%.The company had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. Analysts expect that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on EXE. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Johnson Rice lowered Expand Energy from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Roth Capital reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. William Blair downgraded Expand Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Expand Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.89.

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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