Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 1,293,152 EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,293,152 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $59,627,000. EQT accounts for about 2.3% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.22% of EQT as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of EQT. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,143,774 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $606,059,000 after acquiring an additional 4,162,065 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 386.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,347,660 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $205,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,741 shares during the period. Slate Path Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of EQT during the 4th quarter worth about $123,575,000. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 199.5% during the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,990,714 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $184,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,658,375 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the 4th quarter worth about $113,924,000. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EQT Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:EQT traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.28. The company had a trading volume of 7,706,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,893,260. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $50.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 138.20, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.59. EQT Co. has a one year low of $30.02 and a one year high of $56.66.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. EQT had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 4.35%. Equities research analysts expect that EQT Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.1575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. EQT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EQT shares. Scotiabank downgraded EQT from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of EQT from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of EQT from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of EQT from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of EQT from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.94.

EQT 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.