Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $11.97 Million Stock Holdings in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in EQT Corporation by 19.8%, selling 55,409 shares and holding a total of 224,040 shares valued at approximately $11.97 million post-sale.
• Institutional investors currently own 90.81% of EQT stock, with other firms like Zions Bancorporation and Harbour Investments adjusting their stakes, indicating ongoing interest in the company.
• EQT announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1575 per share, yielding 1.2%, with a stable payout ratio of 34.05%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 224,040 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 55,409 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in EQT were worth $11,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FORA Capital LLC grew its holdings in EQT by 218.5% during the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 48,916 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,614,000 after acquiring an additional 33,557 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in EQT by 49.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 238,546 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $12,746,000 after acquiring an additional 79,138 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in EQT during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,195,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in EQT during the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Hartree Partners LP bought a new stake in EQT during the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,936,000. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EQT Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of EQT stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $51.90. 6,310,318 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,522,401. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. EQT Corporation has a 1-year low of $31.45 and a 1-year high of $61.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.58.

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 (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 company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

In other EQT 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $690,646.18. The trade was a 48.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of EQT stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQT. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of EQT from $63.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of EQT from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Melius began coverage on shares of EQT in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of EQT from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.14.

About EQT

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.