MUFG Securities EMEA plc Sells 34,784 Shares of Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc cut its Expand Energy stake by 78.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,784 shares and ending with 9,774 shares valued at about $1.08 million.
• Expand Energy’s executives bought shares: CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 2,000 shares in March, and CFO Marcel Teunissen bought another 2,000 shares in May, signaling insider confidence.
• The company beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $3.83 EPS on $4.40 billion in revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $131.45.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc decreased its stake in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) by 78.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,774 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,784 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Expand Energy were worth $1,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 74.6% in the 4th 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. grew its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 350.9% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 890.0% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 297 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 54.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 414 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Expand Energy by 85.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 433 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $107.50 per share, for a total transaction of $215,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,976,035. The trade was a 2.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Marcel Teunissen acquired 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $96.43 per share, with a total value of $192,860.00. Following the acquisition, 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair cut shares of Expand Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Expand Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. TD Cowen raised Expand Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Expand Energy from $112.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.45.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXE opened at $91.54 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $99.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.15. The company has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Expand Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $91.01 and a twelve month high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 22.53%. On average, analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.8 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Expand Energy's payout ratio is currently 17.15%.

Expand Energy Company 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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