EQT Corporation $EQT Stock Sold by Howard Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management reduced its EQT stake by 93.9% in the third quarter, selling 67,720 shares and retaining 4,363 shares valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors collectively own 90.81% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with EQT holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $67.64, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• EQT raised its quarterly dividend by 3% to $0.17 per share, resulting in an annualized payout of $0.68 and a yield of about 1.3%; however, its latest quarterly revenue and earnings missed expectations and declined year over year.

Howard Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,363 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 67,720 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management LLC's holdings in EQT were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQT. Root Financial Partners LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in EQT by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 7,033 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in EQT by 76.0% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in EQT by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in EQT by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,014 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on EQT from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Zacks Research upgraded EQT from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on EQT from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of EQT from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of EQT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EQT presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.64.

EQT Stock Up 3.5%

EQT opened at $54.28 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.66. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $47.94 and a one year high of $68.24.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). EQT had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 28.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that EQT Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. This is a positive change from EQT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. EQT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.31%.

Key Headlines Impacting EQT

Here are the key news stories impacting EQT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EQT Corporation raised its quarterly dividend by 3% to $0.17 per share, bringing the annualized payout to $0.68 and the indicated yield to approximately 1.3%. The increase reinforces management’s commitment to shareholder returns and may support investor sentiment. EQT Raises Quarterly Dividend 3%, Reinforces Shareholder Returns
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho maintained an “outperform” rating while lowering its price target from $72 to $68. The revised target still implies substantial upside from recent trading levels, providing a favorable signal despite the reduction. Mizuho Adjusts EQT Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank initiated coverage with a “sector perform” rating and a $54 price target, indicating limited near-term upside and a broadly market-consistent view of EQT Corporation. Scotiabank Initiates Coverage on EQT
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that EQT is acquiring Stockbridge for $375 million and adding approximately $16.5 billion in assets under management involve EQT Real Estate, the alternative-asset-management business associated with Swedish EQT AB, rather than the U.S. natural-gas producer EQT Corporation. The transaction therefore appears unlikely to directly affect NYSE: EQT. EQT to Acquire Stockbridge
• Neutral Sentiment: Other reports concerning EQT AB’s proposed Cleanaway takeover and higher offer for Kakaku.com also relate to the Swedish investment firm, not EQT Corporation, and are not direct catalysts for the U.S. gas producer’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EQT news, CEO Toby Rice sold 175,328 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total value of $9,648,299.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares in the company, valued at $118,747,310.95. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About EQT

EQT Corporation is a natural gas producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, and crude oil, with its operations concentrated in the Appalachian Basin, particularly the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.

In addition to its upstream production activities, EQT has interests in the midstream infrastructure used to gather, process, transport, and store natural gas. These assets support the movement of production from well sites to regional and interstate markets.

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