Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 7,477,145 Shares of EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in EQT Corporation by 17.6%, selling 7,477,145 shares, and now holds about 5.85% of the company valued at approximately $1.87 billion.
• Institutional investors collectively own 90.81% of EQT's stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• EQT announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1575 per share, representing a 1.2% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 34.05%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its holdings in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 17.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,040,521 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 7,477,145 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 5.85% of EQT worth $1,872,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EQT. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its position in shares of EQT by 199.5% during the 4th quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 3,990,714 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $184,012,000 after acquiring an additional 2,658,375 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of EQT in the first quarter worth $120,252,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $3,955,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,054 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in EQT in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,627,000. Finally, Two Creeks Capital Management LP bought a new stake in EQT during the fourth quarter worth about $50,657,000. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at EQT

In related news, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of EQT stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $219,594.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EQT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQT opened at $51.2750 on Thursday. EQT Corporation has a one year low of $31.45 and a one 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. The company has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.13.

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

EQT Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on EQT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of EQT in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of EQT from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of EQT from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Melius began coverage on EQT in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on EQT from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.71.

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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