EQT (NYSE:EQT) Share Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• EQT shares moved above their 50-day moving average, trading at $52.79 versus the average of $52.69.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $68.00.
• EQT beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.42 per share versus $0.37 expected, though revenue fell 9.6% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share.

Shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.69 and traded as high as $53.04. EQT shares last traded at $52.79, with a volume of 5,914,825 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of EQT from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on EQT from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on EQT from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.00.

EQT Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.45. The company has a market cap of $33.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 28.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that EQT Corporation will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

EQT Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This is a positive change from EQT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. EQT's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in EQT during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,204,125,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of EQT by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,679,249 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,109,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,316 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of EQT by 41.4% in 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in EQT in the second quarter worth approximately $512,148,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of EQT by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,803,442 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $290,694,000 after acquiring an additional 184,553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

EQT Company Profile

EQT Corporation is a natural gas company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas in the Appalachian Basin. Its operations are concentrated in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, including the Marcellus and Utica shale formations. The company also operates midstream infrastructure that gathers and transports natural gas from production areas to pipelines and markets. This includes gathering systems and transmission assets serving the Appalachian region. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, EQT traces its roots to the late 19th century and was formerly known as Equitable Resources.

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