EQT (NYSE:EQT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.19 EPS

EQT (NYSE:EQT - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.19, Zacks reports. EQT had a return on equity of 4.82% and a net margin of 4.37%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.81 billion.

EQT Stock Performance

EQT stock traded down $2.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.15. 13,788,858 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,422,005. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.58. EQT has a fifty-two week low of $30.02 and a fifty-two week high of $56.66. The stock has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.08.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.1575 dividend. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. EQT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 157.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EQT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on EQT from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho upgraded shares of EQT from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of EQT from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of EQT in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on EQT from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

In related news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of EQT stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.83, for a total transaction of $1,351,803.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 201,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,038,086.64. The trade was a 13.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.