Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Position in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Expand Energy by 7.1% in the first quarter, ending with 699,056 shares valued at about $76.7 million.
• Expand Energy also saw insider buying, with CEO Michael Wichterich and CFO Marcel Teunissen purchasing shares; insiders bought 4,000 shares worth $375,120 over the last 90 days.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating analyst expectations on both earnings and revenue, while analysts currently maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a $130.19 price target.

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 699,056 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Expand Energy worth $76,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXE. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in shares of Expand Energy by 6.8% in the third quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in Expand Energy by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 234 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Expand Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,073 shares of the company's stock worth $2,657,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Expand Energy by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Expand Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 85,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Marcel Teunissen acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $96.43 per share, with a total value of $192,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $881,755.92. This trade represents a 28.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,120 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut Expand Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Expand Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Expand Energy from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Expand Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Expand Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.19.

Expand Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of EXE opened at $88.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Expand Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $84.99 and a 12-month high of $126.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.34.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 10.26%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.4 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.15%.

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.

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