EQT Corporation $EQT Shares Bought by UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in EQT Corporation by 25.1%, holding over 2.5 million shares valued at approximately $135 million as of the latest SEC filings.
• Despite recent share purchases by institutional investors, corporate insiders have sold shares, including significant sales by Director Vicky A. Bailey and EVP Sarah Fenton.
• Analysts have a consensus price target of $62.14 for EQT Corporation, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold" from various financial institutions.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 25.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,525,776 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 506,970 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.42% of EQT worth $134,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EQT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,039,340 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,955,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,054 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 2.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,692,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $304,176,000 after acquiring an additional 113,716 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 2.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,204,106 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $278,055,000 after acquiring an additional 110,249 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 10.3% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,191,780 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $277,397,000 after acquiring an additional 484,671 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 7.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,658,814 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $251,017,000 after acquiring an additional 311,154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

EQT Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE EQT traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.58. 2,940,751 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,129,264. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. EQT Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.82 and a 52 week high of $61.02. The stock has a market cap of $30.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.58.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last released 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). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. EQT had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 6.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. Analysts forecast that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. EQT's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $60.00) on shares of EQT in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on EQT from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on EQT from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on EQT from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EQT currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EQT news, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $219,594.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.94, for a total value of $646,029.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $690,646.18. This represents a 48.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

EQT Company 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.