Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 188,110 Shares of EQT Corporation $EQT

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 44.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,258 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 188,110 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in EQT were worth $12,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EQT. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of EQT by 48.4% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 693 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of EQT by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 960 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EQT during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of EQT by 255.5% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,422 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EQT shares. Melius started coverage on shares of EQT in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $60.00) on shares of EQT in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of EQT from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of EQT from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, EQT presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.71.

Insider Activity at EQT

In other news, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 13,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,646.18. This represents a 48.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

EQT Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:EQT traded up $0.6780 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $52.0180. 2,817,252 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,331,417. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $32.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.59.

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

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. EQT's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.05%.

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.