533,363 Shares in EQT Corporation $EQT Acquired by Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC

Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 533,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $28,358,911,000. EQT comprises 14.1% of Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.09% of EQT at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQT. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 19,075 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 773 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of EQT by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 46,582 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of EQT by 4.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,813 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. 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: 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of EQT from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of EQT from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of EQT from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of EQT in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EQT has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.64.

Insider Activity at EQT

In related news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 274,042 shares of company stock worth $15,005,076 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

EQT Stock Performance

Shares of EQT stock opened at $53.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 0.58. EQT Corporation has a 1-year low of $47.94 and a 1-year high of $68.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.49.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). EQT had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 28.44%.The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that EQT Corporation will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

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

EQT 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.