IFM Investors Pty Ltd Grows Stake in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in EQT Corporation by 10.2%, acquiring a total of 96,218 shares valued at approximately $5.14 million.
• Numerous institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., have also made significant investments in EQT, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Equities analysts have provided mixed ratings on EQT, with 15 recommending a buy, while analysts have varied price targets ranging from $57.00 to $80.00 per share.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,218 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,918 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in EQT were worth $5,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EQT. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in EQT in the first quarter worth $120,252,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,509,054 shares during the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP grew its holdings in EQT by 200.0% in the first quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 1,500,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $80,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Situational Awareness LP purchased a new position in EQT in the first quarter worth $52,864,000. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC purchased a new position in EQT in the first quarter worth $49,392,000. 90.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on EQT shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of EQT from $63.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $60.00) on shares of EQT in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of EQT from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Roth Capital downgraded shares of EQT from a "strong-buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of EQT from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EQT has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EQT news, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $219,594.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 13,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $690,646.18. This trade represents a 48.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

EQT Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE EQT opened at $50.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.03 and a 200 day moving average of $53.03. EQT Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.67 and a 1 year high of $61.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.45 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. EQT had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 6.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were given 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 1.2%. EQT's payout ratio is currently 34.05%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.