EQT (NYSE:EQT) Hits New 1-Year High After Strong Earnings

Shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. EQT had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 3.74%.

EQT Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EQT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of EQT in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of EQT from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on EQT from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on EQT from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded EQT from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $48.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EQT currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.83, for a total transaction of $1,351,803.82. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 201,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,038,086.64. The trade was 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. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQT. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of EQT during the 4th quarter worth about $8,318,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its position in EQT by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 960 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC lifted its position in EQT by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC grew its position in shares of EQT by 752.9% in the fourth quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 333,050 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,357,000 after purchasing an additional 294,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of EQT by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,968 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EQT Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.26 and a two-hundred 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 quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51.

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.