EQT (NYSE:EQT) Hits New 12-Month High on Strong Earnings

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $56.24 and last traded at $56.02, with a volume of 1351603 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.78.

The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 3.74% and a net margin of 5.52%.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.1575 dividend. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. EQT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on EQT in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on EQT from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of EQT from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of EQT from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of EQT from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,038,086.64. The trade was a 13.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EQT

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of EQT by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,042 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in EQT by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in EQT by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,731 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of EQT by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,265 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of EQT by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,719 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

EQT Trading Up 3.1 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.26 and a 200 day moving average of $41.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.29, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

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.