EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) Receives $62.14 Average Target Price from Analysts

Key Points

• EQT Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 21 analysts, with 15 recommending to buy, 5 to hold, and 1 to sell the stock. The average 1-year price target is $62.14.
• Despite a missed earnings estimate in its latest quarterly report, EQT has maintained a strong market presence with a market capitalization of $31.79 billion and a PE ratio of 27.54.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1575 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 34.05%.

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.8571.

Several research analysts have commented on EQT shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $60.00) on shares of EQT in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of EQT in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of EQT from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of EQT from $63.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd.

Insider Activity at EQT

In other news, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $219,594.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.94, for a total transaction of $646,029.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $690,646.18. This trade represents a 48.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of EQT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in EQT during the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in EQT by 36.3% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 205,679 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $10,989,000 after purchasing an additional 54,779 shares during the last quarter. Kingsman Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in EQT during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,284,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in EQT by 7.0% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,661 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Philadelphia Trust Co. lifted its stake in EQT by 665.8% during the first quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. now owns 54,371 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 47,271 shares during the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EQT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQT traded down $0.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.14. 26,609,732 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,298,283. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. EQT has a 12 month low of $34.01 and a 12 month high of $61.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.40 and a 200-day moving average of $53.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.58.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.07). EQT had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 6.24%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that EQT will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were issued a $0.1575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. EQT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.05%.

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.