UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS cut its price target on Expand Energy (EXE) from $139 to $133 but maintained a "buy" rating, with the new target implying roughly a 36% upside from the prior close.
• EXE is trading near $97.78—well below the consensus price target of $131.95 (~35% gap)—despite a recent quarterly beat (EPS $2.00 vs. $1.89) and a CEO purchase of 2,000 shares at ~$107.50.
• Analyst coverage is broadly positive (two Strong Buy, 14 Buy, three Hold) and institutional ownership is very high at 97.93%, with major investors like Vanguard and Capital Research materially increasing stakes.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at UBS Group from $139.00 to $133.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 36.02% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on EXE. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on Expand Energy from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Stephens raised their price target on Expand Energy from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.95.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EXE stock traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $97.78. 2,820,160 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,930,589. Expand Energy has a 12-month low of $91.01 and a 12-month high of $126.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $23.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.41.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. Expand Energy had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Expand Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In related news, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $107.50 per share, for a total transaction of $215,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 83,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,976,035. The trade was a 2.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Expand Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,913,307 shares of the company's stock worth $2,965,510,000 after buying an additional 646,330 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Expand Energy by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,251,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,345,303,000 after buying an additional 5,291,948 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Expand Energy by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,183,560 shares of the company's stock worth $1,400,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014,484 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Expand Energy by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,359,372 shares of the company's stock worth $463,140,000 after acquiring an additional 619,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 192.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,286,361 shares of the company's stock worth $362,683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160,979 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company's stock.

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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