EQT Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:EQT)

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 22,623 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 71% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,260 call options.

EQT Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE EQT opened at $46.11 on Wednesday. EQT has a 12 month low of $30.02 and a 12 month high of $48.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.71. The stock has a market cap of $27.51 billion, a PE ratio of 54.89 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that EQT will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. EQT’s dividend payout ratio is 75.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EQT news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 201,608 shares in the company, valued at $9,038,086.64. This represents a 13.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in EQT in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EQT in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of EQT by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 891 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of EQT by 18,080.0% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 909 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in EQT in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EQT shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on EQT from $32.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of EQT in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of EQT from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of EQT from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of EQT in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.61.

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.