National Pension Service Acquires 39,309 Shares of Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335,950 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,309 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Expand Energy were worth $37,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in Expand Energy by 74.6% during the fourth 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. grew its stake in Expand Energy by 350.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in Expand Energy during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in Expand Energy by 890.0% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Expand Energy by 85.0% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 83,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,976,035. This trade represents a 2.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Marcel Teunissen bought 2,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $96.43 per share, for a total transaction of $192,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $881,755.92. This represents a 28.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on EXE. Piper Sandler upped 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. Stephens upped their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price objective on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Expand Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.45.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of EXE stock opened at $92.98 on Monday. Expand Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $91.01 and a 1 year high of $126.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.12 and its 200-day moving average is $106.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.22. Expand Energy had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.15%.

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.