Essex Financial Services Inc. Decreases Stock Position in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,185 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in EQT were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQT. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of EQT by 184.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of EQT in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Financial Avengers Inc. grew its holdings in EQT by 100.8% during the third quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas F. Karam sold 30,154 shares of EQT stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 201,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,038,086.64. This trade represents a 13.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on EQT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on EQT from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on EQT from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens raised their target price on EQT from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on EQT from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised EQT from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.89.

EQT Stock Performance

NYSE EQT opened at $52.90 on Friday. 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 $31.56 billion, a PE ratio of 62.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.81.

EQT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.1575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. EQT’s payout ratio is 75.00%.

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.