EQT Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:EQT)

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 30,227 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 49% compared to the average volume of 20,284 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

In other EQT news, EVP J.E.B. Bolen sold 1,422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total value of $75,067.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 69,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,668,165.94. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EQT

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of EQT in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 48.4% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 693 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EQT in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of EQT by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 875 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of EQT by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,026 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EQT Price Performance

Shares of EQT stock traded up $1.92 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.86. 6,357,079 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,169,416. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.20. EQT has a twelve month low of $42.27 and a twelve month high of $61.02. The company has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. EQT had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 6.88%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that EQT will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

EQT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This is an increase from EQT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. EQT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on EQT shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of EQT from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. William Blair started coverage on EQT in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of EQT from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of EQT in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.52.

About EQT

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.