Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $127,038,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $79,015,000. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter worth $43,592,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $36,507,000. Finally, Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $35,283,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 price target on Expand Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. KeyCorp set a $135.00 target price on Expand Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Expand Energy from $131.00 to $129.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Expand Energy to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $127.55.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

EXE stock traded down $3.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.08. 2,376,980 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,374,873. Expand Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $81.66 and a twelve month high of $123.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $28.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.22 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.34.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. Expand Energy had a positive return on equity of 4.64% and a negative net margin of 18.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -42.91%.

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.