The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $163.71 Million in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 3.08 million EQT shares valued at approximately $163.7 million, representing about 0.49% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 90.81% of EQT.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.10, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• EQT missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.39 EPS and $1.68 billion in revenue, while revenue fell 29.2% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, and CEO Toby Z. Rice sold approximately $9.65 million in stock.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,078,900 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $163,705,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.49% of EQT as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of EQT by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,161,975 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $62,282,000 after purchasing an additional 132,741 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $9,988,000 after purchasing an additional 32,921 shares during the period. BOKF NA lifted its holdings in EQT by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. BOKF NA now owns 138,368 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,417,000 after purchasing an additional 28,427 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in EQT by 114.0% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 48,523 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 25,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in EQT by 9.1% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 48,587 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on EQT shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on EQT from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Capital One Financial lifted their target price on EQT from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of EQT from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of EQT from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of EQT from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.10.

EQT Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of EQT stock opened at $53.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.45. EQT Corporation has a 1 year low of $47.94 and a 1 year high of $68.24.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). EQT had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 28.44%.The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. EQT's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction of $9,648,299.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 274,042 shares of company stock worth $15,005,076. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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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