Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Reduces Holdings in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners reduced its holdings in EQT Corporation by 40.3% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.27% of the company worth $86.64 million.
• EQT Corporation reported $0.45 earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations of $0.52, and had a revenue of $1.60 billion compared to estimates of $1.78 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1575, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.2%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 40.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,621,635 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 1,092,900 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.27% of EQT worth $86,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in EQT by 14.1% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in EQT by 2.6% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC boosted its position in EQT by 14.1% during the first quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 1,711 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in EQT by 3.9% during the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in EQT by 48.4% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 693 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of EQT in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $60.00) on shares of EQT in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of EQT from $63.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of EQT to an "outperform" rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.14.

EQT Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of EQT stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,959,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,322,149. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $53.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.05. EQT Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.45 and a 12-month high of $61.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.58.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.45 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. EQT's payout ratio is 34.05%.

EQT 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.