Expand Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:EXE)

Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 103,165 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,609% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,037 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Joshua J. Viets acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.16 per share, with a total value of $184,320.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 61,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,684,060.16. This represents a 3.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Domenic J. Dell’osso, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $95.86 per share, with a total value of $239,650.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 166,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,981,299.90. This represents a 1.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $2,973,033,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,310,932,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Expand Energy in the first quarter valued at $701,831,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Expand Energy during the first quarter valued at $624,083,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $518,328,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXE. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up from $146.00) on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Expand Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Expand Energy from $141.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Expand Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expand Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.24.

Expand Energy Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ EXE traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,516,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,642,337. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $103.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Expand Energy has a 1 year low of $91.01 and a 1 year high of $123.35. The stock has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00 and a beta of 0.47.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.09. Expand Energy had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 7.99%.The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Expand Energy will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Expand Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. Expand Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.34%.

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.