EQT (NYSE:EQT) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Wells Fargo & Company

EQT (NYSE:EQT) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $71.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of EQT to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of EQT from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of EQT from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of EQT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of EQT from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.78.

EQT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQT opened at $54.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.17 and a 200-day moving average of $55.47. EQT has a 12 month low of $47.94 and a 12 month high of $68.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.66.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. EQT had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 28.40%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. EQT’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that EQT will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. This is an increase from EQT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. EQT’s payout ratio is 15.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Toby Rice sold 175,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total value of $9,648,299.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,157,865 shares in the company, valued at $118,747,310.95. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EQT

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of EQT by 35.4% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 773 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in EQT by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of EQT by 3.2% during the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 7,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of EQT by 76.0% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in EQT by 4.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting EQT

Here are the key news stories impacting EQT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EQT’s planned all-stock acquisition of Range Resources would create a natural-gas producer valued at more than $50 billion. Management expects greater scale, cost synergies, stronger free cash flow and increased exposure to liquids-rich gas. EQT to Acquire Range Resources, Create a Leading Natural Gas Company
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Toby Rice said the Range transaction has created a higher-quality business and fits EQT’s broader Gulf Coast and global LNG strategy, potentially improving the company’s access to export markets. EQT CEO Toby Rice on buying Range Resources
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.42 exceeded the $0.37 consensus estimate, helped by lower operating costs and capital spending approximately 10% below guidance. EQT Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates

EQT Company Profile

EQT Corporation is a natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company develops and operates unconventional oil and gas properties, with a primary focus on natural gas and natural gas liquids produced from shale formations.

EQT’s operations are concentrated in the Appalachian Basin, particularly the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. Its activities include drilling, completion, production and management of natural gas wells, along with related gathering and infrastructure operations that support the transportation of its products to market.

The company traces its roots to Equitable Gas, founded in 1878, and has evolved through multiple stages of expansion and restructuring in the U.S.