Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Position in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 659,534 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 101,762 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.11% of EQT worth $30,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of EQT in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EQT in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of EQT by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 891 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of EQT in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Financial Avengers Inc. lifted its position in shares of EQT by 100.8% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

In other news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

EQT Price Performance

NYSE:EQT traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $54.03. 3,212,762 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,797,884. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. EQT Co. has a 1 year low of $30.02 and a 1 year high of $54.85. The company has a market cap of $32.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.26.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.1575 per share. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. EQT's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of EQT in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho upgraded shares of EQT from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of EQT from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of EQT from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of EQT from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EQT currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.89.

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.