EQT (NYSE:EQT) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Freedom Broker

EQT (NYSE:EQT) had its target price cut by Freedom Broker from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of EQT from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of EQT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of EQT from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised EQT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.78.

EQT Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE EQT opened at $55.38 on Wednesday. EQT has a fifty-two week low of $47.94 and a fifty-two week high of $68.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.49.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. EQT had a net margin of 28.40% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that EQT will post 3.88 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 $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. This is an increase from EQT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. EQT’s payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

Insider Transactions at EQT

In other news, CEO Toby Rice sold 175,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EQT

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 84.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in EQT by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 111,254 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after buying an additional 10,783 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in EQT by 3,853.8% in the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 514 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. McAlvany Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of EQT by 0.5% in the third quarter. McAlvany Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,270 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,995,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of EQT by 2.4% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 970,699 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $47,189,000 after acquiring an additional 22,411 shares in the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EQT News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting EQT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The Range Resources transaction is expected to make EQT a substantially larger natural-gas company—potentially about 25% larger than its nearest rival—with greater scale, more liquids-rich production and anticipated operating synergies. EQT-Range Deal Will Create $50B Gas Champion EQT and Range Resources Are Merging
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Toby Rice characterized the Range acquisition as creating a higher-quality business, while EQT’s expanded Gulf Coast footprint supports its longer-term strategy of supplying global liquefied natural gas markets. EQT CEO Toby Rice on buying Range Resources EQT expands Gulf Coast footprint
• Positive Sentiment: EQT’s third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.42 exceeded the $0.37 consensus estimate, and capital spending was reportedly 10% below guidance, supporting cash-flow discipline. EQT Reports Q3 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary continues to describe EQT as undervalued after its substantial five-year advance, which may provide valuation support but also leaves expectations elevated. EQT Stock Still Looks Undervalued
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue declined 9.6% year over year and production volumes fell 8%, while one analysis argued that EQT’s high free-cash-flow margin could precede weaker cyclical performance. EQT Distribute Rating After Q3 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker, Wells Fargo and Scotiabank each lowered expectations or price targets for EQT. Freedom nevertheless retained a “buy” rating, indicating reduced upside assumptions rather than an outright bearish view. Freedom Broker Lowers EQT Expectations Wells Fargo Lowers EQT Expectations

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.