Tidal Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Tidal Investments increased its EQT position by 491.1% in the second quarter, adding 1.95 million shares to hold 2.34 million shares worth approximately $124.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.81% of EQT.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with EQT carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68, versus a recent share price of $54.61.
• EQT’s latest quarter fell short of expectations, reporting $0.39 in earnings per share and $1.68 billion in revenue, while revenue declined 29.2% year over year. CEO Toby Rice also sold 175,328 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 491.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,344,477 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 1,947,878 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC owned about 0.37% of EQT worth $124,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,204,125,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 5,000.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,749,722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,953,983,000 after purchasing an additional 36,029,223 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of EQT during the 2nd quarter worth about $512,148,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,565,479 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,199,807,000 after purchasing an additional 6,603,286 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in EQT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $163,705,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EQT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of EQT from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of EQT from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of EQT from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of EQT to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Toby Rice sold 175,328 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares in the company, valued at $118,747,310.95. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

EQT Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:EQT opened at $54.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.26. EQT Corporation has a 52-week low of $47.94 and a 52-week high of $68.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. EQT had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 9.31%. EQT's revenue for the quarter was down 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that EQT Corporation will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. EQT's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.31%.

EQT Company Profile

EQT Corporation is a natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company primarily develops and operates unconventional oil and gas properties in the Appalachian Basin, with a focus on natural gas production from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.

EQT's products include natural gas, natural gas liquids and condensate. Its operations span drilling, well completion, production and related gathering activities, supporting the delivery of energy to utilities, industrial customers, marketers and other buyers.

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