Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires New Position in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd has acquired 4,466 shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: EXE), with a total investment value of approximately $503,000.
• Expand Energy reported disappointing quarterly earnings, posting $1.10 earnings per share, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $1.14, despite generating revenues of $3.69 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, providing an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, although the payout ratio is notably high at 589.74%.

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Expand Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 target price on shares of Expand Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Expand Energy from $150.00 to $148.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Expand Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price target (up from $146.00) on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Capital One Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $127.46.

Expand Energy Price Performance

EXE traded up $1.41 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,477,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,649,490. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Expand Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $72.77 and a twelve month high of $123.35. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $99.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 248.61 and a beta of 0.46.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.04). Expand Energy had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 589.74%.

Insider Activity at Expand Energy

In other news, COO Joshua J. Viets purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.16 per share, with a total value of $184,320.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 61,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,684,060.16. The trade was a 3.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $95.86 per share, for a total transaction of $239,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 166,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,981,299.90. The trade was a 1.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.