Brokerages Set EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) Price Target at $44.56

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.69.

Several research firms have commented on EQT. StockNews.com raised shares of EQT to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on EQT from $37.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down previously from $39.00) on shares of EQT in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of EQT from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of EQT from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

EQT Stock Up 0.3 %

EQT opened at $40.02 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.78. EQT has a 52 week low of $31.58 and a 52 week high of $45.23. The firm has a market cap of $17.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. EQT had a net margin of 10.96% and a return on equity of 4.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that EQT will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. EQT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQT. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EQT in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in EQT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in EQT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of EQT by 26.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,332 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EQT during the third quarter worth $54,000. 90.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.