Empirical Finance LLC Sells 11,448 Shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)

Empirical Finance LLC lessened its stake in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 58.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,992 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 11,448 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC's holdings in EQT were worth $369,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of EQT. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in shares of EQT in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in EQT during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in EQT by 184.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 891 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in EQT in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Financial Avengers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EQT by 100.8% during the third quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

EQT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQT traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $53.49. 5,552,108 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,823,351. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $48.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.07. The company has a market cap of $31.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. EQT Co. has a 52 week low of $30.02 and a 52 week high of $54.85.

EQT Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.1575 per share. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. EQT's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on EQT shares. Bank of America started coverage on EQT in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank downgraded shares of EQT from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of EQT from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of EQT in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EQT currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EQT news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.83, for a total value of $1,351,803.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 201,608 shares in the company, valued at $9,038,086.64. This trade represents a 13.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

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.