EQT (NYSE:EQT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $51.21 and last traded at $50.62, with a volume of 7395821 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EQT shares. StockNews.com upgraded EQT to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of EQT from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of EQT from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of EQT from $41.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of EQT in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.94.

EQT Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.55. The company has a market cap of $32.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.12 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.06. EQT had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 3.74%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EQT Co. will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of EQT stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.83, for a total transaction of $1,351,803.82. Following the transaction, the director now owns 201,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,038,086.64. The trade was a 13.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQT. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in EQT by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,719 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of EQT by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 60,948 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,810,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 1.0% in the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 30,908 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of EQT by 7.4% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,121 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Avengers Inc. lifted its holdings in EQT by 100.8% during the third quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.