Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes $2.97 Million Position in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 32,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,969,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EXE. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in shares of Expand Energy by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Expand Energy by 350.9% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Expand Energy by 379.6% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in Expand Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Expand Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $131.00 to $129.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. William Blair downgraded shares of Expand Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Expand Energy from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.90 per share, with a total value of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. This trade represents a 1.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Expand Energy Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of EXE stock opened at $96.07 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.59. Expand Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $84.99 and a 52 week high of $126.62. The stock has a market cap of $22.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 10.33%. Analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 19.86%.

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.