Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 2,160,979 Shares of Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) by 192.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,286,361 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,160,979 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.38% of Expand Energy worth $362,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EXE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $2,599,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $208,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $205,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Expand Energy during the first quarter worth $79,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Expand Energy during the second quarter worth $757,000. Institutional investors own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on EXE. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $123.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $141.00 to $139.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $112.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $141.00 price target on shares of Expand Energy in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expand Energy

In other news, 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 purchase, the chief financial officer owned 9,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $881,755.92. This trade represents a 28.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Wichterich purchased 1,000 shares of Expand Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.36 per share, for a total transaction of $93,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 84,498 shares in the company, valued at $7,888,733.28. This represents a 1.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Expand Energy Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:EXE opened at $88.78 on Friday. Expand Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $86.80 and a 52 week high of $126.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.23 and its 200-day moving average is $104.55. The company has a market capitalization of $21.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.33.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Expand Energy’s 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.