Clearbridge Investments LLC Buys 1,774,696 Shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,829,938 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,774,696 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 2.32% of EQT worth $637,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in EQT by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,042 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in EQT by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in EQT by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,731 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in EQT by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,719 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of EQT by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 60,948 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EQT Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:EQT opened at $53.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a PE ratio of 132.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $51.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.51. EQT Co. has a one year low of $30.02 and a one year high of $56.66.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. EQT had a return on equity of 4.35% and a net margin of 4.37%. On average, equities analysts forecast that EQT Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.1575 per share. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. EQT’s payout ratio is currently 157.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of EQT in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens upgraded EQT from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of EQT from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of EQT from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of EQT from $41.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.11.

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.