United Capital Management of KS Inc. Purchases Shares of 8,000 EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• United Capital Management of KS Inc. has made a new investment of approximately $427,000 in EQT Corporation, acquiring 8,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their holdings in EQT, with Vanguard Group raising its stake by 2.1% to own over 74 million shares valued at nearly $4 billion.
• Analysts have set a new consensus price target of $60.95 for EQT, with a majority rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy."

United Capital Management of KS Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQT. Oak Grove Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 1.3% in the first quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 123,025 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $6,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of EQT by 30.8% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 55,720 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 13,122 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 8.9% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 29,928 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 10.3% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,191,780 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $277,397,000 after purchasing an additional 484,671 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in EQT by 6.1% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 173,674 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $9,268,000 after acquiring an additional 10,024 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.81% of the company's stock.

EQT Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of EQT traded up $0.0040 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.5040. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,083,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,386,745. The company's 50-day moving average is $55.19 and its 200-day moving average is $53.16. EQT Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.45 and a 52-week high of $61.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.07). EQT had a return on equity of 6.24% and a net margin of 15.87%.The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. EQT's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $219,594.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.94, for a total transaction of $646,029.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $690,646.18. The trade was a 48.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of EQT in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Mizuho raised shares of EQT to an "outperform" rating and set a $66.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of EQT from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of EQT from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.32.

EQT Company 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.