Zacks Research Upgrades EQT (NYSE:EQT) to “Hold”

EQT (NYSE:EQT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

EQT has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on EQT from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on EQT from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of EQT from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of EQT from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of EQT from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.10.

EQT Stock Performance

Shares of EQT stock opened at $54.56 on Thursday. EQT has a 52 week low of $47.94 and a 52 week high of $68.24. The company has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that EQT will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

In other news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction of $9,648,299.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 274,042 shares of company stock worth $15,005,076. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQT. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in EQT during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EQT in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of EQT by 251.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC now owns 577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of EQT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of EQT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.