K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Buys New Shares in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Institutional investors increased exposure to EQT: K.J. Harrison & Partners bought 35,000 shares worth approximately $1.86 million, while several other major funds also initiated positions. Institutions and hedge funds now own 90.81% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: EQT has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.48, despite some recent target reductions and a downgrade from Zacks Research.
• Recent results fell short of expectations: EQT reported quarterly EPS of $0.39 versus the $0.41 consensus and revenue of $1.68 billion, down 29.2% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, representing a 1.2% yield.

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 35,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in EQT during the second quarter worth approximately $3,204,125,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in EQT in the second quarter valued at about $512,148,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in EQT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $119,461,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in EQT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $110,177,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in EQT in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,630,000. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of EQT from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of EQT from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of EQT from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of EQT from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 96,983 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total value of $5,264,237.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,334,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,739,674.72. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

EQT Price Performance

EQT stock opened at $53.07 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $51.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.53. 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 $33.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

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

About EQT

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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