Vident Advisory LLC Invests $2.71 Million in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC has acquired 24,380 shares of Expand Energy Corporation, valued at approximately $2.71 million, marking a significant investment during the first quarter.
• Expand Energy recently posted earnings of $1.10 per share, missing the consensus estimate by $0.04, but exceeded expected revenue of $3.69 billion compared to $2.09 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.575 per share, resulting in a yield of 2.4% with a notably high dividend payout ratio of 589.74%.

Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 24,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,714,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EXE. Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EXE. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $150.00 to $146.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $127.12.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.86 per share, with a total value of $239,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 166,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,981,299.90. This represents a 1.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Joshua J. Viets bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $92.16 per share, with a total value of $184,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 61,676 shares in the company, valued at $5,684,060.16. The trade was a 3.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Expand Energy Stock Down 0.4%

EXE stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $96.66. 2,383,365 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,704,479. The company has a market capitalization of $23.02 billion, a PE ratio of 247.85 and a beta of 0.46. 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 $69.12 and a twelve month high of $123.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.46.

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

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

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

Expand Energy 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.