Westpac Banking Corp Has $603,000 Stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in EQT Corporation by 293.0% in the 1st quarter, resulting in a total investment of $603,000 in the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Clean Energy Transition LLP, have also expanded their positions in EQT, leading to institutional ownership of 90.81% of the stock.
• EQT recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1575 per share, which is part of an annualized yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 34.05%.

Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 293.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,287 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,415 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in EQT were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in EQT in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in EQT by 48.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 693 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its stake in EQT by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 960 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in EQT in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in EQT by 255.5% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,422 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EQT Stock Performance

EQT traded up $0.76 on Friday, hitting $52.81. The company had a trading volume of 10,048,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,111,218. The company's fifty day moving average price is $55.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.14. EQT Corporation has a 1-year low of $31.42 and a 1-year high of $61.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.59.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EQT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on EQT from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Roth Capital started coverage on EQT in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on EQT from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on EQT from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About EQT

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.