EQT (NYSE:EQT) Trading 6.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) shares were up 6.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $45.78 and last traded at $45.74. Approximately 3,452,208 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 7,138,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of EQT from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America started coverage on EQT in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on EQT from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on EQT from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on EQT from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

EQT Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.82 and a 200-day moving average of $37.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.46 and a beta of 1.14.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 3.74% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that EQT Co. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. EQT’s payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.83, for a total transaction of $1,351,803.82. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 201,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,038,086.64. This trade represents a 13.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 74,153,050 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,716,968,000 after acquiring an additional 20,700,921 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in EQT by 24.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,095,597 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,359,183,000 after purchasing an additional 7,290,822 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in EQT by 2.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,348,475 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $752,487,000 after purchasing an additional 464,781 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in EQT in the third quarter worth about $562,494,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of EQT by 34.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,997,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $511,159,000 after buying an additional 3,582,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

About EQT

EQT Corporation operates as a natural gas production company in the United States. The company sells natural gas and natural gas liquids to marketers, utilities, and industrial customers through pipelines located in the Appalachian Basin. It also offers marketing services and contractual pipeline capacity management services.