Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. has increased its stake in EQT Corporation by 529.4%, owning 41,294 shares worth approximately $2.2 million after acquiring an additional 34,733 shares in the 1st quarter.
• EQT reported a missed EPS estimate with earnings of $0.45, falling short of the expected $0.52, alongside revenues of $1.60 billion against expectations of $1.78 billion for the same quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1575 per share, set to be paid on September 2nd, which represents an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 529.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,294 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 34,733 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in EQT were worth $2,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQT. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in EQT by 48.4% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 693 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in EQT by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 960 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in EQT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in EQT by 255.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,422 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in EQT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at EQT

In related news, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.94, for a total value of $646,029.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $690,646.18. The trade was a 48.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

EQT Price Performance

Shares of EQT traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.29. 4,540,206 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,659,581. EQT Corporation has a one year low of $30.59 and a one year high of $61.02. The firm has a market cap of $32.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.70 and a 200-day moving average of $53.13.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm posted ($0.08) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. EQT's payout ratio is currently 34.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EQT shares. Mizuho raised EQT to an "outperform" rating and set a $66.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on EQT from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on EQT from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.