Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Invests $7.18 Million in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 134,345 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $7,178,000. EQT accounts for 2.1% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in EQT in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $407,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of EQT by 8.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 255,035 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $13,627,000 after buying an additional 20,852 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in shares of EQT during the 1st quarter worth $914,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of EQT by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,039 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 4,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC grew its stake in EQT by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 20,626 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 5,278 shares during the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of EQT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on EQT from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen raised EQT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on EQT from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $62.00 price objective (up previously from $57.00) on shares of EQT in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EQT has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.39.

EQT Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of EQT stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $58.17. The company had a trading volume of 9,211,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,911,120. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.70. EQT Co. has a twelve month low of $30.02 and a twelve month high of $58.73. The company has a market capitalization of $34.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $53.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.67.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. EQT had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 4.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that EQT Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. EQT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.53%.

EQT 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.