Howard Capital Management LLC Sells 67,720 Shares of EQT Corporation $EQT

Howard Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) by 93.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 67,720 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management LLC’s holdings in EQT were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of EQT in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Community Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of EQT by 198.9% during the 2nd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 523 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of EQT by 76.0% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 251.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC now owns 577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of EQT during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at EQT

In other news, CEO Toby Rice sold 175,328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction of $9,648,299.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EQT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on EQT from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Freedom Capital upgraded EQT to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on EQT from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on EQT from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.64.

EQT Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE EQT opened at $54.28 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.98 and its 200 day moving average is $54.18. EQT Corporation has a 52 week low of $47.94 and a 52 week high of $68.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.66.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. EQT had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that EQT Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

EQT Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from EQT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. EQT’s payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

Key Stories Impacting EQT

Here are the key news stories impacting EQT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EQT Corporation raised its quarterly dividend by 3% to $0.17 per share, bringing the annualized payout to $0.68 and the indicated yield to approximately 1.3%. The increase reinforces management’s commitment to shareholder returns and may support investor sentiment. EQT Raises Quarterly Dividend 3%, Reinforces Shareholder Returns
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho maintained an “outperform” rating while lowering its price target from $72 to $68. The revised target still implies substantial upside from recent trading levels, providing a favorable signal despite the reduction. Mizuho Adjusts EQT Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank initiated coverage with a “sector perform” rating and a $54 price target, indicating limited near-term upside and a broadly market-consistent view of EQT Corporation. Scotiabank Initiates Coverage on EQT
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that EQT is acquiring Stockbridge for $375 million and adding approximately $16.5 billion in assets under management involve EQT Real Estate, the alternative-asset-management business associated with Swedish EQT AB, rather than the U.S. natural-gas producer EQT Corporation. The transaction therefore appears unlikely to directly affect NYSE: EQT. EQT to Acquire Stockbridge
• Neutral Sentiment: Other reports concerning EQT AB’s proposed Cleanaway takeover and higher offer for Kakaku.com also relate to the Swedish investment firm, not EQT Corporation, and are not direct catalysts for the U.S. gas producer’s stock.

EQT Company Profile

EQT Corporation is a natural gas producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, and crude oil, with its operations concentrated in the Appalachian Basin, particularly the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.

In addition to its upstream production activities, EQT has interests in the midstream infrastructure used to gather, process, transport, and store natural gas. These assets support the movement of production from well sites to regional and interstate markets.