Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC Makes New Investment in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Nierenberg Investment Management initiated a 15,555-share position in Expand Energy valued at approximately $1.42 billion, representing 0.7% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 97.93% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $127.67, although several firms recently lowered targets or downgraded their ratings.
• Expand Energy beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.33 versus the $1.13 consensus, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.575, equivalent to a 2.4% annualized yield.

Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 15,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,418,460,000. Expand Energy makes up 0.7% of Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EXE. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $39,822,000. West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Expand Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $574,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Expand Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Amplify Investments LLC purchased a new position in Expand Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Fore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,368,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair downgraded shares of Expand Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Expand Energy from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Expand Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.67.

Expand Energy Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:EXE opened at $96.03 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $90.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Expand Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $84.99 and a 52 week high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.20. Expand Energy had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Expand Energy's payout ratio is presently 19.86%.

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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