23,780 Shares in EQT Corporation $EQT Acquired by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management acquired 23,780 shares of EQT worth approximately $1.26 million, while institutional investors collectively own 90.81% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with EQT receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.10, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• EQT reported quarterly earnings and revenue below expectations, with revenue falling 29.2% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, while CEO Toby Z. Rice sold shares worth approximately $9.65 million.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,780 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,264,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the second quarter worth $3,204,125,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of EQT in the 2nd quarter valued at $512,148,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of EQT in the 2nd quarter valued at $119,461,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in EQT in the 2nd quarter worth $110,177,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in EQT during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,630,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on EQT from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of EQT from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of EQT from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut EQT from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EQT has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.10.

EQT Stock Up 0.1%

EQT opened at $53.76 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.58. EQT Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $47.94 and a fifty-two week high of $68.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. EQT had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 9.31%. EQT's revenue was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that EQT Corporation will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

EQT 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.

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