Stock Traders Buy High Volume of EQT Put Options (NYSE:EQT)

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 23,367 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 36% compared to the typical volume of 17,167 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on EQT shares. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of EQT from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of EQT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of EQT from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of EQT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $62.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of EQT in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.39.

EQT Stock Performance

NYSE EQT traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.49. 11,713,396 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,897,882. The business's fifty day moving average price is $54.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.65. EQT has a 52 week low of $30.02 and a 52 week high of $60.80.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. EQT had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 5.52%. Equities research analysts predict that EQT will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.1575 per share. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. EQT's dividend payout ratio is currently 110.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQT. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in EQT during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 48.4% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 693 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 47.7% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,042 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

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.