Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Invests $59.63 Million in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,293,152 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $59,627,000. EQT makes up about 2.3% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.22% of EQT at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in EQT by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,042 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EQT in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EQT by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,199 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of EQT by 1,343.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

EQT Stock Down 1.2 %

EQT opened at $53.29 on Friday. EQT Co. has a 1-year low of $30.02 and a 1-year high of $56.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $31.90 billion, a PE ratio of 133.23, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.59.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.20. EQT had a return on equity of 4.35% and a net margin of 4.37%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that EQT Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.1575 per share. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. EQT’s payout ratio is 110.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on EQT shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of EQT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of EQT in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on EQT from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on EQT from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on EQT from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.94.

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.