Short Interest in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) Declines By 15.0%

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) saw a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,285,730 shares, a decrease of 15.0% from the January 29th total of 8,573,285 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,470,061 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,470,061 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on EXE. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Expand Energy from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group cut their price target on Expand Energy from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Expand Energy from $145.00 to $144.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price objective on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $129.92.

Expand Energy Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:EXE traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.32. 1,460,291 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,771,481. Expand Energy has a fifty-two week low of $91.01 and a fifty-two week high of $126.62. The company has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.44.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 15.00%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Expand Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 30.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXE. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 120,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,838,000 after purchasing an additional 13,670 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in Expand Energy by 10.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 53,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,211,000 after buying an additional 5,020 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,347,000. Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 30,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,272,000 after acquiring an additional 11,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,858,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,159,000 after acquiring an additional 224,275 shares in the last quarter. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.