SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 111,258 Shares of EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities reduced its EQT position by 21.5% in the first quarter, selling 111,258 shares and leaving it with 406,393 shares worth about $25.9 million.
• EQT reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.33 per share, topping estimates, while revenue came in line at $3.14 billion. Analysts now expect the company to earn 4.7 EPS for the full year.
• The company continues to attract mixed but generally positive analyst attention, with several firms raising targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $68.29. EQT also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, implying a 1.3% annual yield.

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 406,393 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 111,258 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.07% of EQT worth $25,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of EQT by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,161,975 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $62,282,000 after buying an additional 132,741 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in EQT by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 587,172 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,361,000 after buying an additional 13,232 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in EQT by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 583,072 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,253,000 after buying an additional 48,587 shares during the period. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. boosted its position in EQT by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. now owns 262,600 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $14,075,000 after acquiring an additional 42,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in EQT by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 186,352 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $9,988,000 after acquiring an additional 32,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

In other news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 96,983 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $126,739,674.72. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,116 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $246,136.80. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 102,830 shares of company stock worth $5,602,913. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

EQT Price Performance

EQT stock opened at $51.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.08. The company has a market capitalization of $32.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.55. EQT Corporation has a 52-week low of $48.47 and a 52-week high of $68.24.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 31.94%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that EQT Corporation will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. EQT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on EQT from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore raised their target price on EQT from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of EQT in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on EQT from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on EQT from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.29.

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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