Senator Investment Group LP Takes Position in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)

Senator Investment Group LP acquired a new stake in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 980,283 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $45,201,000. EQT accounts for about 1.3% of Senator Investment Group LP's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Senator Investment Group LP owned 0.16% of EQT as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQT. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of EQT by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 29,341 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 11,181 shares during the period. Seldon Capital LP purchased a new position in EQT in the fourth quarter valued at $5,332,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of EQT by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 85,060 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,922,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of EQT by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 159,408 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $7,350,000 after acquiring an additional 3,368 shares during the period. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in EQT by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 29,158 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EQT Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE EQT traded up $1.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.26. The company had a trading volume of 9,360,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,805,427. EQT Co. has a 1-year low of $30.02 and a 1-year high of $56.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.37 and a 200 day moving average of $46.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

EQT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.1575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. EQT's payout ratio is presently 157.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of EQT from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of EQT from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered EQT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on EQT from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised EQT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.39.

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.