Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Makes New Investment in EQT Corporation $EQT

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 9,715 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $517,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in EQT in the 2nd quarter worth $3,204,125,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in EQT in the second quarter worth about $512,148,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in EQT in the second quarter worth about $119,461,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in shares of EQT in the second quarter worth about $110,177,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of EQT in the second quarter worth about $78,630,000. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EQT news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of EQT stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 274,042 shares of company stock worth $15,005,076 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

EQT Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of EQT opened at $53.92 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.95 and its 200 day moving average is $56.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. EQT Corporation has a 12-month low of $47.94 and a 12-month high of $68.24. The company has a market capitalization of $33.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.58.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last posted 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 business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that EQT Corporation will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. EQT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.31%.

Key Stories Impacting EQT

Here are the key news stories impacting EQT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintains an overweight rating: The firm lowered its price target modestly from $68 to $67, still implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. The target reduction is mildly negative, but the continued overweight rating supports the broader bullish analyst consensus. Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend provides support: EQT recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, or $0.66 annualized, representing an approximately 1.2% yield. Its low payout ratio of about 15% suggests room to maintain the distribution, assuming natural-gas cash flow remains healthy. EQT stock information
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst expectations remain favorable but have eased: EQT carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target near $68.48, while several firms have recently trimmed their targets. The stock remains below its 200-day moving average, indicating that investors are still cautious about the natural-gas outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated EQT-branded transactions: EQT Real Estate reportedly agreed to acquire a $1.2 billion Southern California industrial portfolio, while EQT AB acquired a majority stake in Australia’s Melbourne Storm and is considering asset sales in Vietnam. These transactions involve separate businesses and have no direct financial impact on EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT). Rexford portfolio report
• Negative Sentiment: Recent earnings were below expectations: EQT’s latest quarterly EPS came in at $0.39 versus the $0.41 consensus, revenue declined 29.2% year over year to $1.68 billion, and revenue missed estimates. The results highlight sensitivity to weaker natural-gas prices and demand.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO share sale adds a modest overhang: CEO Toby Rice sold 175,328 shares worth approximately $9.65 million, reducing his direct stake by 7.51%. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is less concerning than discretionary selling but may still weigh on sentiment. SEC insider filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EQT. UBS Group cut their price objective on EQT from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of EQT from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of EQT from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.64.

EQT 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.