BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC Makes New Investment in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• BTG Pactual Asset Management acquired 28,764 EQT shares during the second quarter, worth approximately $1.53 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.81% of EQT’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.10, despite several recent target reductions and one downgrade to “Sell.”
• EQT reported quarterly EPS of $0.39, below the $0.41 estimate, while revenue fell 29.2% year over year to $1.68 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, representing a 1.2% annualized yield.

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 28,764 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,529,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of EQT during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in EQT in the second quarter worth $26,000. Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC boosted its position in EQT by 251.8% in the second quarter. Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC now owns 577 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of EQT during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded EQT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on EQT from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded EQT from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.10.

EQT Price Performance

EQT stock opened at $54.56 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.58. EQT Corporation has a one year low of $47.94 and a one year high of $68.24. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.41.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that EQT Corporation will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction 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 represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 274,042 shares of company stock worth $15,005,076 over the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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