Vestcor Inc Buys Shares of 3,807 Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has purchased 3,807 shares of Expand Energy Corporation for approximately $424,000, marking a new stake in the company.
• Expand Energy Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.10, missing analyst estimates of $1.14, despite revenues of $3.69 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.575, representing a dividend yield of 2.3% with a payout ratio currently at 589.74%.

Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $518,328,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $326,670,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $127,038,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $108,048,000. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $89,056,000. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Expand Energy Trading Down 1.1%

Expand Energy stock traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,776,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,763,693. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.57 billion, a PE ratio of 253.73 and a beta of 0.46. Expand Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $69.12 and a 12 month high of $123.35. 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 (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 5.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Expand Energy Corporation will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Expand Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 589.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Expand Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Expand Energy from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Expand Energy from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Tudor Pickering & Holt dropped their price objective on Expand Energy from $119.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $125.00 price objective on Expand Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.92.

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.