Yaupon Capital Management LP Acquires 410,604 Shares of EQT Corporation $EQT

Key Points

• Yaupon Capital Management LP significantly increased its stake in EQT Corporation by 102.7% during the first quarter, owning approximately $43.31 million worth of shares, making EQT its 7th largest holding.
• EQT recently reported earnings of $0.45 per share, missing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter compared to the expected $1.78 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1575, representing an annualized yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio currently at 34.05%.

Yaupon Capital Management LP boosted its stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 102.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 810,538 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 410,604 shares during the period. EQT makes up about 2.2% of Yaupon Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Yaupon Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.14% of EQT worth $43,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in EQT in the 1st quarter valued at $18,448,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of EQT by 11.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 216,628 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $11,574,000 after acquiring an additional 21,738 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EQT during the first quarter valued at about $14,638,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of EQT during the first quarter valued at about $447,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of EQT during the first quarter valued at about $256,000. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of EQT stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the business'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 value of $646,029.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,646.18. The trade was a 48.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on EQT from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on EQT from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on EQT from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on EQT in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, EQT presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.14.

EQT Stock Performance

NYSE EQT traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,746,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,170,850. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.08. EQT Corporation has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $61.02. The stock has a market cap of $31.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.58.

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

EQT Announces Dividend

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

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.