Northern Trust Corp Raises Stock Holdings in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in EQT Corporation by 2.0% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 5,692,985 shares valued at $304.2 million.
• Various institutions, including Brooklyn Investment Group and Raymond James Financial, have also recently adjusted their investments in EQT, leading to institutional ownership reaching 90.81% of the company's stock.
• Despite a recent quarterly earnings report showing $0.45 EPS which missed expectations, EQT has received multiple analyst upgrades, indicating a consensus price target of $60.71 and a majority rating of "Moderate Buy."

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,692,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 113,716 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.95% of EQT worth $304,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in EQT by 14.1% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in EQT by 2.6% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC raised its stake in EQT by 14.1% in the first quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 1,711 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in EQT by 3.9% in the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in EQT by 48.4% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 693 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EQT Price Performance

NYSE EQT traded down $0.1340 on Friday, reaching $51.9160. 4,768,066 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,375,581. EQT Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.45 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.13. The stock has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.59.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.07). EQT had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 6.24%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

In related news, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of EQT stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.94, for a total value of $646,029.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $690,646.18. The trade was a 48.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of EQT stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $219,594.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EQT. Roth Capital downgraded shares of EQT from a "strong-buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $75.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of EQT in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of EQT from $63.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of EQT from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of EQT to an "outperform" rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EQT has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.14.

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.