EQT Corporation $EQT Shares Bought by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its stake in EQT during the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 114% to 48,523 shares worth about $2.6 million. The article also notes that institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.81% of EQT’s stock.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on EQT, with several analysts raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy”. The average target price is $68.83, above the stock’s recent trading level.
• EQT reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.33 per share versus $2.01 estimated, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share. The company’s dividend yields about 1.2% annually.

Allstate Corp raised its stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 114.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,523 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 25,852 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in EQT were worth $2,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 186,352 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $9,988,000 after acquiring an additional 32,921 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 5,057.3% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 6,756 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 6,625 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. L & S Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 57,308 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,220 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Capital One Financial increased their price objective on EQT from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on EQT from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Barclays raised their price target on EQT from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on EQT from $75.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lesley Evancho sold 20,000 shares of EQT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $1,213,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,203,798.83. The trade was a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 4,876 shares of EQT stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.49, for a total value of $314,453.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 52,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,414,938.97. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 28,992 shares of company stock valued at $1,774,390 in the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

EQT Stock Down 1.8%

EQT stock opened at $55.17 on Thursday. EQT Corporation has a twelve month low of $48.47 and a twelve month high of $68.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.59.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 31.94%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that EQT Corporation will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. EQT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.52%.

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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