EQT (NYSE:EQT) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• EQT hit a new 52-week high intraday at $63.39 and last traded at $63.17 on volume of about 3.89 million shares.
• Analysts are broadly positive — MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $66.09, and several firms (Wells Fargo, TD Cowen, JPMorgan) recently raised price targets toward $70.
• Fundamentals: EQT reported Q4 EPS of $0.90 (vs. $0.76 est.) with revenue up 24.8% year‑over‑year, pays a quarterly dividend of $0.165 ($0.66 annualized, ~1.0% yield), and insiders sold roughly 56,282 shares in the last quarter.

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $63.39 and last traded at $63.17, with a volume of 3886519 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of EQT from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of EQT from $70.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of EQT from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.09.

EQT Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $39.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.72.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 23.59%.The company's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. EQT's dividend payout ratio is 19.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EQT news, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 3,768 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.37, for a total transaction of $227,474.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 52,806 shares in the company, valued at $3,187,898.22. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lesley Evancho sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $1,213,800.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 184,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,203,798.83. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 56,282 shares of company stock valued at $3,428,530 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in EQT by 104.4% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 40,787 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 20,828 shares during the period. Adalta Capital Management LLC increased its position in EQT by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC now owns 13,920 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. lifted its stake in EQT by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. now owns 262,600 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $14,075,000 after buying an additional 42,100 shares during the last quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EQT by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 119,508 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $6,406,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EQT by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 11,075 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

About EQT

EQT Corporation NYSE: EQT is a U.S.-based energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company concentrates its upstream operations in the Appalachian Basin, producing from major shale formations including the Marcellus and Utica. EQT's primary product is natural gas, with production activities supported by associated liquids and conventional gas assets where applicable.

In addition to drilling and well development, EQT operates and coordinates the infrastructure and commercial activities necessary to bring gas to market.

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