EQT (NYSE:EQT) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Key Points

• EQT Corporation reported earnings of $0.52 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.50, with a net margin of 15.87%.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.165 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 35.68% and an annualized yield of 1.2%.
• EQT's stock price experienced a decline of 1.4% to $55.64, with significant trading volume of over 6.6 million shares.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The oil and gas producer reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02, Zacks reports. EQT had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 6.24%.

EQT Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:EQT traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.64. 6,652,749 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,266,652. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.58. The company has a market cap of $34.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.50. EQT has a 12 month low of $35.44 and a 12 month high of $61.02.

EQT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. This is a boost from EQT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. EQT's payout ratio is presently 35.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of EQT from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of EQT from $66.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of EQT in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of EQT from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $690,646.18. The trade was a 48.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $219,594.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EQT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in EQT in the 1st quarter worth about $256,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in EQT by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,637 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in EQT by 495.2% in the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 128,060 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,468,000 after purchasing an additional 106,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in EQT by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 30,617 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 8,658 shares in the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EQT Company 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.

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