Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 18,117 Shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in EQT Corporation by 6.7%, now owning 286,613 shares valued at approximately $15.3 million.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their stakes, with notable increases from Empirical Finance LLC and HB Wealth Management LLC during the first quarter.
• EQT Corporation reported a miss in earnings per share for the last quarter, posting $0.45 versus the consensus estimate of $0.52, alongside a declaration of a $0.1575 quarterly dividend.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 286,613 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 18,117 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in EQT were worth $15,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of EQT by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of EQT by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its stake in EQT by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 1,711 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of EQT by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of EQT by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,265 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.94, for a total transaction of $646,029.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $690,646.18. This represents a 48.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

EQT Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of EQT stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,011,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,661,232. The stock has a market cap of $33.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. EQT Corporation has a 52-week low of $30.02 and a 52-week high of $61.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.15.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 6.24% and a net margin of 15.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. Research analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.1575 per share. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. EQT's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on EQT. Mizuho raised EQT to an "outperform" rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $66.00 target price (up from $62.00) on shares of EQT in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on EQT from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.84.

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.