Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co Acquires Shares of 33,715 EQT Corporation $EQT

Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 33,715 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in EQT in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in EQT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in EQT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in EQT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of EQT by 35.4% in 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 during the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at EQT

In other news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction of $9,648,299.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,157,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $118,747,310.95. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 274,042 shares of company stock valued at $15,005,076. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting EQT

Here are the key news stories impacting EQT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target for EQT Corporation slightly, from $68 to $67, but maintained an Overweight rating. The new target implies approximately 25% upside from the recent trading level, signaling continued analyst confidence in EQT’s valuation and natural-gas prospects. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Toby Rice sold 175,328 EQT shares for approximately $9.6 million, reducing his direct stake by 7.51%. Because the transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, it may carry less negative significance than a discretionary sale, although insider selling can still weigh on sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: EQT’s latest reported quarter remains a fundamental headwind: earnings per share came in at $0.39 versus a $0.41 consensus estimate, revenue declined 29.2% year over year to $1.68 billion, and revenue missed expectations. Analysts nevertheless project approximately $4.06 in full-year EPS.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several headlines about EQT acquiring the Melbourne Storm rugby club and considering a sale of Vietnamese language schools concern Swedish investment firm EQT AB, not EQT Corporation. They should not be interpreted as corporate actions by NYSE:EQT. Financial Times

EQT Price Performance

EQT stock opened at $53.63 on Thursday. EQT Corporation has a 52 week low of $47.94 and a 52 week high of $68.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $33.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 0.58.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. EQT had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The business’s revenue was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. EQT’s payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on EQT from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price target on EQT from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on EQT from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of EQT from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Capital One Financial upped their target price on shares of EQT from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, EQT currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.64.

EQT Company Profile

EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) is a U.S.-based energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company concentrates its upstream operations in the Appalachian Basin, producing from major shale formations including the Marcellus and Utica. EQT’s primary product is natural gas, with production activities supported by associated liquids and conventional gas assets where applicable.

In addition to drilling and well development, EQT operates and coordinates the infrastructure and commercial activities necessary to bring gas to market.