Empowered Funds LLC Has $35.10 Million Stake in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its EQT stake by 125.6% in the second quarter, acquiring 367,523 additional shares for a total of 660,166 shares valued at approximately $35.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.81% of EQT.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with EQT holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.10, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• EQT shares opened at $54.85, while the company recently reported quarterly EPS and revenue below estimates. EQT also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% annual yield.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 125.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 660,166 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 367,523 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.11% of EQT worth $35,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in EQT by 1.0% during the fourth 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 raised its position in shares of EQT by 35.4% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 773 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of EQT by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 46,582 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,497,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of EQT by 4.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EQT by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,897 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,271,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on EQT from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on EQT from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.10.

EQT Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of EQT opened at $54.85 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $52.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.58. EQT Corporation has a 12-month low of $47.94 and a 12-month 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 28.44%.EQT's revenue was down 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. EQT's payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

Insider Transactions at EQT

In other news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,157,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 274,042 shares of company stock valued at $15,005,076. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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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