Investors Purchase Large Volume of Expand Energy Put Options (NASDAQ:EXE)

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 10,834 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 69% compared to the average daily volume of 6,415 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EXE shares. Stephens boosted 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. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $136.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Expand Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $131.48.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $107.50 per share, for a total transaction of $215,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,976,035. This represents a 2.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Expand Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 350.9% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 890.0% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Expand Energy Price Performance

EXE stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $103.38. 366,154 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,942,099. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Expand Energy has a 12-month low of $91.01 and a 12-month high of $126.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $107.13 and its 200 day moving average is $108.38. The company has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.47.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.11. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Expand Energy will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.