ING Groep NV Acquires 311,781 Shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in EQT Corporation by 157.1%, purchasing an additional 311,781 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $27 million.
• EQT Corporation reported earnings per share of $0.45 for the last quarter, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $0.52.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1575 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.2%.

ING Groep NV grew its stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 157.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 510,190 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 311,781 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned about 0.09% of EQT worth $27,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in EQT by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 31,102 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 13,803 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of EQT during the 4th quarter worth about $199,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in EQT by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,265 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in EQT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,504,000. Finally, Aviva PLC bought a new position in EQT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,719,000. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

EQT Price Performance

EQT opened at $52.42 on Monday. EQT Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $30.02 and a fifty-two week high of $61.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.10 and a 200 day moving average of $53.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $32.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.59.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.07). The company 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 earned ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on EQT from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Scotiabank reissued 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. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of EQT from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen upgraded EQT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded EQT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.84.

Insider Activity at EQT

In related news, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of EQT 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.

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