EQT (NYSE:EQT) Stock Sees Unusually High Put Option Buying

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 30,984 put options on the company. This is an increase of 116% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,315 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQT has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on EQT in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of EQT from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on EQT from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of EQT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EQT has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

In related news, CEO Toby Rice sold 175,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,747,310.95. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in EQT by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,395 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in EQT by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 35,797 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,738,000 after acquiring an additional 5,471 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in EQT by 0.9% in the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 60,463 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,936,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of EQT in the third quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of EQT during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EQT Trading Up 2.1%

EQT traded up $1.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.81. 2,840,509 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,143,188. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. EQT has a one year low of $47.94 and a one year high of $68.24.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). EQT had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that EQT will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Increases Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. EQT’s payout ratio is presently 15.31%.

About EQT

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.