Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases Shares of 18,500 Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,059,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXE. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $127,038,000. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $79,015,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $60,722,000. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,592,000. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,235,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of Expand Energy stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, hitting $108.90. 3,063,997 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,370,753. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Expand Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $81.66 and a fifty-two week high of $123.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.32 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $114.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.35.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXE. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Expand Energy from $133.00 to $131.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Expand Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $108.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. KeyCorp set a $135.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $115.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.25.

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.