EQT (NYSE:EQT) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $67.00 to $69.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. EQT traded as high as $65.50 and last traded at $65.5930, with a volume of 551385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.31.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on EQT. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of EQT from $67.00 to $63.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of EQT in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on EQT from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Capital One Financial raised their price target on EQT from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EQT currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EQT news, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 3,768 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.37, for a total value of $227,474.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 52,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,187,898.22. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lesley Evancho sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $1,213,800.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 184,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,203,798.83. The trade was a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 56,282 shares of company stock worth $3,428,530. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of EQT in the 1st quarter worth approximately $256,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in EQT by 9.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,637 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in EQT by 1.0% during the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 46,436 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,708,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates boosted its position in EQT by 11.3% during the second quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 10,399 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in EQT during the second quarter worth $41,000. 90.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EQT Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $40.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.14. EQT had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 23.59%.The business had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. EQT’s payout ratio is presently 19.94%.

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.