Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in EQT Corporation $EQT

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) by 35.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,751 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 990 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in EQT were worth $199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in EQT by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,039,340 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,955,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,054 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in EQT by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,692,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $304,176,000 after purchasing an additional 113,716 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in EQT by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,204,106 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $278,055,000 after purchasing an additional 110,249 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in EQT by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,191,780 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $277,397,000 after purchasing an additional 484,671 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in EQT by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,658,814 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $251,017,000 after purchasing an additional 311,154 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

EQT Stock Up 1.9%

EQT stock opened at $52.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. EQT Corporation has a one year low of $31.45 and a one year high of $61.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.66 and a 200-day moving average of $53.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.59.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.07). EQT had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 6.24%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.08) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that EQT Corporation will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.1575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. EQT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sarah Fenton sold 12,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.94, for a total value of $646,029.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,297 shares in the company, valued at $690,646.18. This trade represents a 48.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vicky A. Bailey sold 4,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $219,594.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EQT shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of EQT from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of EQT in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of EQT from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho upgraded shares of EQT to an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of EQT from $63.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EQT presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.14.

EQT 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.