Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Purchases 77,600 Shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,714,535 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 77,600 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.45% of EQT worth $125,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQT. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 36.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 133,142 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,878,000 after purchasing an additional 35,733 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in EQT by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 53,555 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,379,000 after acquiring an additional 16,416 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of EQT by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,467 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of EQT by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,508 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 5,489 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. purchased a new position in shares of EQT during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQT has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up previously from $63.00) on shares of EQT in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "reduce" rating on shares of EQT in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of EQT in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of EQT from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of EQT from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EQT has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.50.

EQT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQT opened at $48.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.35. EQT Co. has a 52-week low of $30.02 and a 52-week high of $56.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm's fifty day moving average is $50.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.83.

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.20. EQT had a return on equity of 4.35% and a net margin of 4.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that EQT Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. EQT's dividend payout ratio is currently 157.50%.

EQT Profile

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.

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