EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,480,000 shares, an increase of 11.7% from the August 15th total of 18,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

EQT Stock Performance

Shares of EQT stock traded up $0.36 on Monday, hitting $33.55. 5,480,273 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,093,501. EQT has a one year low of $30.02 and a one year high of $45.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 1.06.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.12. EQT had a return on equity of 4.52% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $952.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. EQT’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that EQT will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a $0.1575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. EQT’s payout ratio is currently 45.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EQT. Scotiabank boosted their price target on EQT from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of EQT in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on EQT from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised EQT from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised EQT to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EQT has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EQT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in EQT in the second quarter worth $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in EQT by 936.1% in the second quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of EQT by 149.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 998 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of EQT in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of EQT by 414.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

EQT Company 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.