Readystate Asset Management LP Purchases New Shares in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Readystate Asset Management acquired 113,091 Expand Energy shares worth approximately $10.3 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 97.93% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.89, despite several recent target reductions.
• Expand Energy exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.33 in EPS versus the $1.13 consensus estimate, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, representing a 2.3% yield.

Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 113,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,313,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $2,599,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $208,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $205,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Expand Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $131.00 to $129.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Johnson Rice lowered Expand Energy from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Freedom Broker raised shares of Expand Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.90 per share, with a total value of $88,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Expand Energy stock opened at $97.91 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.95. The company has a market capitalization of $22.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.34. Expand Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $84.99 and a 1 year high of $126.62. 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 (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.86%.

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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