EQT (NYSE:EQT) Given New $67.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

EQT (NYSE:EQT) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $67.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.00% from the company’s previous close.

EQT has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on EQT from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on EQT from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of EQT from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Capital One Financial raised their price objective on EQT from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on EQT from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EQT presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.43.

EQT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQT traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.60. 3,575,679 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,445,816. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.58. EQT has a one year low of $47.94 and a one year high of $68.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.51.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 28.44%.The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that EQT will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at EQT

In other EQT news, CEO Toby Z. Rice sold 175,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total value 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 $118,747,310.95. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 274,042 shares of company stock valued at $15,005,076 over the last ninety days. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EQT

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQT. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 19,075 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in EQT by 35.4% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 773 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in shares of EQT by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 46,582 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,497,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of EQT by 4.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of EQT by 1.4% during the second quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,897 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting EQT

Here are the key news stories impacting EQT this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.48, well above the stock’s recent trading level. However, several firms recently trimmed their targets while maintaining Buy or Overweight ratings. Analyst price targets
• Positive Sentiment: EQT declared its regular quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, equivalent to $0.66 annually and a yield of roughly 1.2%. The low payout ratio provides financial flexibility, although the dividend is not large enough to be a primary stock catalyst. EQT dividend and market data
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Toby Rice sold 175,328 shares for approximately $9.65 million. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing the likelihood that it reflects a new negative view of EQT’s business, though it may still weigh modestly on sentiment. Toby Rice share sale
• Negative Sentiment: EQT’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, with earnings of $0.39 per share versus $0.41 expected and revenue of $1.68 billion versus $1.76 billion expected. Revenue declined 29.2% year over year, highlighting continued sensitivity to natural-gas prices and market conditions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several headlines about EQT buying Melbourne Storm, considering a sale of Vietnamese language schools, and pursuing other international investments concern EQT AB, the Swedish private-equity firm—not EQT Corporation. They should not be interpreted as transactions by NYSE:EQT. EQT AB Melbourne Storm transaction

EQT Company Profile

EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT) is a U.S.-based energy company focused on the exploration, development and production of natural gas. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company concentrates its upstream operations in the Appalachian Basin, producing from major shale formations including the Marcellus and Utica. EQT’s primary product is natural gas, with production activities supported by associated liquids and conventional gas assets where applicable.

In addition to drilling and well development, EQT operates and coordinates the infrastructure and commercial activities necessary to bring gas to market.