121,819 Shares in EQT Corporation $EQT Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 121,819 EQT shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $6.48 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.81% of EQT.
• EQT’s CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares for roughly $9.65 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; insiders have sold about $15.0 million of stock over the past 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy”, with a consensus price target of $68.10, although recent firms have issued downgrades. EQT’s latest quarterly results missed estimates, with $0.39 in adjusted EPS and $1.68 billion in revenue.

Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 121,819 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $6,477,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EQT. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,161,975 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $62,282,000 after acquiring an additional 132,741 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of EQT by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 186,352 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $9,988,000 after purchasing an additional 32,921 shares during the period. BOKF NA lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 138,368 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $7,417,000 after purchasing an additional 28,427 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 114.0% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 48,523 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 25,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of EQT by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 583,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,253,000 after purchasing an additional 48,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at EQT

In related news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction of $9,648,299.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 274,042 shares of company stock worth $15,005,076. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EQT. Zacks Research cut EQT from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of EQT from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of EQT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Freedom Capital raised shares of EQT to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of EQT from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.10.

EQT Price Performance

NYSE EQT opened at $54.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.44. EQT Corporation has a 52-week low of $47.94 and a 52-week high of $68.24.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. EQT had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. EQT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.31%.

EQT Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EQT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source