EQT (EQT) Trading Down 5.3% Following Weak Earnings

Shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) traded down 5.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $17.92 and last traded at $18.20. 6,704,326 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 4,871,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.21.

The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. EQT had a positive return on equity of 3.77% and a negative net margin of 6.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS.

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The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 14th. EQT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.16%.

EQT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of EQT from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 7th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Jefferies Financial Group set a $39.00 price target on shares of EQT and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of EQT from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $48.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of EQT from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, October 26th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $48.00 price target on shares of EQT and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. EQT has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.29.

In other EQT news, Director Philip G. Behrman acquired 5,331 shares of EQT stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.37 per share, with a total value of $103,261.47. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,400. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert Joseph Mcnally acquired 8,700 shares of EQT stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.69 per share, with a total value of $145,203.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,566.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 58,381 shares of company stock valued at $993,238 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in EQT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Architects Inc raised its stake in EQT by 55.1% in the fourth quarter. Financial Architects Inc now owns 2,131 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. JOYN Advisors Inc. raised its stake in EQT by 282.1% in the fourth quarter. JOYN Advisors Inc. now owns 3,546 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 2,618 shares in the last quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. raised its stake in EQT by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. now owns 4,184 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 3,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerebellum GP LLC raised its stake in EQT by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerebellum GP LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. 96.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

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EQT Company Profile (NYSE:EQT)

EQT Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates in natural gas industry in the United States. Its EQT Production segment produces natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil. As of December 31, 2017, this segment operated 21.4 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas, NGLs, and crude oil reserves across approximately 4.0 million gross acres comprising approximately 1.1 million gross acres.

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