EQT Corporation $EQT Shares Newly Acquired by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 159,851 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,762,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EQT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of EQT in the 2nd quarter worth $3,204,125,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of EQT during the second quarter worth about $512,148,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in EQT by 41.4% during 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 buying an additional 6,603,286 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in EQT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $163,705,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in EQT in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $127,420,000. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EQT Stock Performance

NYSE:EQT opened at $52.62 on Thursday. EQT Corporation has a 12 month low of $47.94 and a 12 month high of $68.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.54.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. The company 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%. EQT’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that EQT Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. This is a positive change from EQT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. EQT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQT has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut EQT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Stephens lifted their target price on EQT from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. UBS Group lowered their target price on EQT from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on EQT from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

EQT 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.