EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.78.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EQT. StockNews.com raised shares of EQT to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on EQT in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on EQT from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Stephens upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of EQT in a research report on Monday.

EQT Trading Up 1.1 %

EQT stock opened at $48.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a PE ratio of 57.32 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.04. EQT has a one year low of $30.02 and a one year high of $48.52.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. EQT had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 3.74%. EQT’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that EQT will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.1575 dividend. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. EQT’s payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of EQT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.83, for a total value of $1,351,803.82. Following the sale, the director now owns 201,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,038,086.64. This trade represents a 13.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in EQT in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,272,000. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $266,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of EQT by 65.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 3,333 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of EQT by 144.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,052 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in EQT by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 700,714 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,674,000 after purchasing an additional 198,227 shares during the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EQT Company Profile

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.