Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Expand Energy Corporation $EXE

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in Expand Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:EXE) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 507,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,348 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Expand Energy worth $55,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Expand Energy by 74.6% in the 4th 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 period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Expand Energy by 350.9% during the 4th 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. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Expand Energy by 379.6% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Expand Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Expand Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.93% of the company’s stock.

Expand Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXE traded down $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $87.25. 6,305,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,791,264. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.71. Expand Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $84.99 and a twelve month high of $126.62.

Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.83 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Expand Energy Corporation will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Expand Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Expand Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.15%.

Insider Transactions at Expand Energy

In other news, CFO Marcel Teunissen acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was acquired 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 owned 9,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $881,755.92. The trade was a 28.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Wichterich bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.90 per share, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,600,772.20. This represents a 1.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 4,000 shares of company stock valued at $375,120. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EXE. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Expand Energy from $139.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Expand Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Expand Energy from $134.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays downgraded Expand Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Expand Energy in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Expand Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.78.

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.