EQT Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:EQT)

EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 21,512 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 37% compared to the average daily volume of 15,750 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at EQT

In related news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.83, for a total transaction of $1,351,803.82. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 201,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,038,086.64. This trade represents a 13.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of EQT

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQT. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in EQT during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EQT during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EQT by 18,080.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 909 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in EQT in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

EQT Stock Performance

NYSE EQT traded up $1.61 on Wednesday, hitting $52.30. The stock had a trading volume of 7,386,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,016,369. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.45. The stock has a market cap of $31.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.26 and a beta of 1.12. 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 has a one year low of $30.02 and a one year high of $53.00.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. EQT had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 3.74%. EQT’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. On average, analysts expect that EQT will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EQT. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of EQT from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of EQT in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of EQT from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on EQT from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.94.

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.