Short Interest in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) Expands By 19.3%

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,250,000 shares, a growth of 19.3% from the April 30th total of 16,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EQT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of EQT from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on EQT from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on EQT from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "reduce" rating on shares of EQT in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded EQT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EQT currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EQT

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQT. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of EQT during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in EQT by 48.4% during the first 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 during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in EQT by 47.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in EQT by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of EQT by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,042 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EQT Stock Performance

NYSE EQT traded up $1.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,815,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,877,758. EQT has a 52 week low of $30.02 and a 52 week high of $57.37. The firm has a market cap of $33.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.20. EQT had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 4.35%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that EQT will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.1575 per share. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. EQT's dividend payout ratio is currently 110.53%.

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.