EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.0833.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of EQT from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stephens increased their price objective on EQT from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on EQT from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research lowered EQT from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

EQT Price Performance

EQT opened at $51.17 on Thursday. EQT has a fifty-two week low of $47.94 and a fifty-two week high of $68.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.05 and a 200 day moving average of $56.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $32.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.58.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 28.44%.The business’s revenue was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that EQT will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. EQT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.31%.

Insider Transactions at EQT

In other EQT news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 1,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.46, for a total transaction of $92,539.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,333,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,732,497.78. This represents a 0.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in EQT in the 1st quarter worth approximately $256,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in EQT by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,637 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of EQT by 495.2% during the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 128,060 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,468,000 after acquiring an additional 106,545 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of EQT by 39.4% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 30,617 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,786,000 after acquiring an additional 8,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EQT by 43.6% in the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 85,502 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,640,000 after acquiring an additional 25,971 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

EQT Company Profile

EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) is a U.S.-based energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company concentrates its upstream operations in the Appalachian Basin, producing from major shale formations including the Marcellus and Utica. EQT’s primary product is natural gas, with production activities supported by associated liquids and conventional gas assets where applicable.

In addition to drilling and well development, EQT operates and coordinates the infrastructure and commercial activities necessary to bring gas to market.