Qtron Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Qtron Investments LLC has acquired a new position in Expand Energy Corporation, purchasing 7,079 shares valued at approximately $788,000 during the first quarter.
• Expand Energy recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.10 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14, despite revenues of $3.69 billion exceeding expectations.
• Multiple brokerages have recently issued ratings updates for Expand Energy, with Mizuho raising their price target to $142.00 and Sanford C. Bernstein assigning a "strong-buy" rating with a target of $150.00.

Qtron Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $870,000. Northern Trust Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at about $213,008,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at about $224,000. Bandera Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at about $10,575,000. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at about $831,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $121.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Tudor Pickering & Holt cut their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $119.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.42.

Insider Activity at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $95.86 per share, with a total value of $239,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 166,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,981,299.90. The trade was a 1.52% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Joshua J. Viets purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $92.16 per share, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 3.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Expand Energy stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.66. 3,435,769 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,554,541. Expand Energy Corporation has a one year low of $69.12 and a one year high of $123.35. The stock has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 242.72 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.91.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Expand Energy's payout ratio is presently 589.74%.

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.