Short Interest in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) Expands By 21.2%

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 20,260,000 shares, an increase of 21.2% from the February 13th total of 16,710,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

EQT Trading Up 1.7 %

EQT traded up $0.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.55. 5,468,786 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,278,922. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.85. EQT has a 1 year low of $30.02 and a 1 year high of $56.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.12.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 4.35% and a net margin of 4.37%. As a group, analysts expect that EQT will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. EQT’s payout ratio is currently 157.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EQT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of EQT from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens raised shares of EQT from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of EQT from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Scotiabank downgraded EQT from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded EQT from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.22.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

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

About EQT

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.