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

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 22,623 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 71% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,260 call options.

EQT Price Performance

Shares of EQT stock traded up $2.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $46.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,993,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,118,053. EQT has a one year low of $30.02 and a one year high of $48.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.39 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.62.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 3.74% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that EQT will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.1575 per share. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. EQT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.83, for a total value of $1,351,803.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 201,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,038,086.64. This trade represents a 13.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of EQT

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in EQT in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in EQT during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of EQT by 18,080.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 909 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of EQT by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 891 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of EQT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of EQT in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Bank of America began coverage on shares of EQT in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of EQT from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on EQT from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of EQT from $32.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, EQT presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.61.

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.