Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 77,017 Shares of EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group cut its EQT stake by 67.4%, selling 77,017 shares and retaining 37,173 shares worth approximately $1.98 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.81% of EQT.
• EQT reported quarterly revenue of $1.68 billion and EPS of $0.39, both below analyst expectations, while revenue fell 29.2% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, representing a 1.2% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with EQT receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.10 versus its recent price of $54.56. CEO Toby Z. Rice also sold 175,328 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 67.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,173 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 77,017 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in EQT were worth $1,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EQT. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in EQT by 258.8% during the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in EQT during the second quarter worth $6,119,000. Palogic Value Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 96.6% in the second quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 19,198 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 9,433 shares during the last quarter. Permanens Capital L.P. raised its position in shares of EQT by 314.3% in the second quarter. Permanens Capital L.P. now owns 16,320 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 12,381 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of EQT by 7.2% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,240,709 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $225,478,000 after purchasing an additional 284,244 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EQT Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:EQT opened at $54.56 on Friday. EQT Corporation has a 52-week low of $47.94 and a 52-week high of $68.24. The company has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.33 and a 200-day moving average of $56.40.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. The company's revenue was down 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. EQT's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of EQT stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction of $9,648,299.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares in the company, valued at $118,747,310.95. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 274,042 shares of company stock valued at $15,005,076 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of EQT from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on EQT from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Freedom Capital raised EQT to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on EQT from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EQT has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.10.

EQT Company Profile

EQT Corporation NYSE: EQT is a U.S.-based energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company concentrates its upstream operations in the Appalachian Basin, producing from major shale formations including the Marcellus and Utica. EQT's primary product is natural gas, with production activities supported by associated liquids and conventional gas assets where applicable.

In addition to drilling and well development, EQT operates and coordinates the infrastructure and commercial activities necessary to bring gas to market.

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