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

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 70,380 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 907% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,986 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 target price on shares of Expand Energy in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $112.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. 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 report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays cut shares of Expand Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Expand Energy from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.45.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In related news, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 1,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $93.36 per share, with a total value of $93,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 84,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,888,733.28. The trade was a 1.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Marcel Teunissen purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $96.43 per share, with a total value of $192,860.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 9,144 shares in the company, valued at $881,755.92. The trade was a 28.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EXE. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Expand Energy by 161.5% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,959,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,695,520,000 after purchasing an additional 9,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Expand Energy by 36,574.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,420,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,172,000 after buying an additional 2,414,311 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,498,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,890,000 after buying an additional 2,188,422 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $362,683,000 after buying an additional 2,160,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dragoneer Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the 4th quarter worth $145,633,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Expand Energy Price Performance

Shares of EXE stock traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $89.11. The stock had a trading volume of 894,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,613,172. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a PE ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.33. Expand Energy has a 12 month low of $89.27 and a 12 month high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 10.26%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Expand Energy will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.