Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Makes New $20.35 Million Investment in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased 382,702 EQT shares worth approximately $20.35 million, representing a 0.06% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 90.81% of the company.
• EQT reported quarterly EPS of $0.39, below the $0.41 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 29.2% year over year to $1.68 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165, equivalent to a 1.2% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $68.10, despite several recent target-price cuts; EQT was trading at $54.56 in the article.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 382,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $20,348,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.06% of EQT as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQT. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of EQT by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 19,075 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in EQT by 35.4% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 773 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in EQT by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 46,582 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in EQT by 4.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in EQT by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,813 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

EQT Stock Performance

EQT opened at $54.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.58. EQT Corporation has a 1-year low of $47.94 and a 1-year high of $68.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). EQT had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that EQT Corporation will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at EQT

In other EQT news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $118,747,310.95. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 274,042 shares of company stock valued at $15,005,076. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EQT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered EQT from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on EQT from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on EQT from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on EQT from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.10.

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.

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