Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Cut to “Accumulate” at Johnson Rice

Johnson Rice cut shares of Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) from a buy rating to an accumulate rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $125.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $135.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Expand Energy from $124.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 target price on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Expand Energy from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Expand Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.67.

Expand Energy Stock Up 0.6%

EXE stock opened at $96.03 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $90.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Expand Energy has a 12 month low of $84.99 and a 12 month high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Expand Energy had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 10.33%. Sell-side analysts expect that Expand Energy will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Expand Energy news, CEO Michael Wichterich acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.90 per share, with a total value of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 85,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. The trade was a 1.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expand Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Expand Energy by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,251,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,345,303,000 after purchasing an additional 5,291,948 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Expand Energy during the second quarter worth about $1,778,004,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Expand Energy by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,183,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,400,621,000 after buying an additional 1,014,484 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its position in Expand Energy by 3.5% during the first quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 5,237,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,970,000 after buying an additional 175,114 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Expand Energy by 94.7% during the first 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 period. 97.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.