Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC Takes Position in EQT Corporation $EQT

Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC bought a new position in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 533,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $28,358,911. EQT makes up about 0.0% of Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC owned about 0.09% of EQT as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in EQT by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 19,075 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EQT by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 773 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of EQT by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 46,582 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in EQT by 4.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in EQT by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,813 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total value of $9,648,299.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,157,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 274,042 shares of company stock worth $15,005,076. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on EQT from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings cut EQT from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on EQT from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on EQT from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.10.

EQT Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:EQT traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,566,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,369,694. EQT Corporation has a 1-year low of $47.94 and a 1-year high of $68.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $34.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.58.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). EQT had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 28.44%.The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. EQT’s quarterly revenue was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that EQT Corporation will post 3.97 EPS for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. EQT’s dividend payout ratio is 15.31%.

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.