Analyst Review Alert: EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)

Analysts are weighing in on how EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT), might perform in the near term. Wall Street analysts have a much less favorable assessment of the stock, with a mean rating of 2.1. The stock is rated as buy by 10 analysts, with 5 outperform and 7 hold rating. The rating score is on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 stands for strong buy and 5 stands for strong sell.

For the current quarter, the 20.00 analysts offering adjusted EPS forecast have a consensus estimate of $-0.42 a share, which would compare with $0.01 in the same quarter last year. They have a high estimate of $-0.08 and a low estimate of $-0.65. Revenue for the period is expected to total nearly $462.05M from $433.17M the year-ago period.

For the full year, 21.00 Wall Street analysts forecast this company would deliver earnings of -0.83 per share, with a high estimate of $0.18 and a low estimate of $-2.64. It had reported earnings per share of $0.75 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Revenue for the period is expected to total nearly $2.06B versus 2.34B in the preceding year.

The analysts project the company to maintain annual growth of around 32.30% percent over the next five years as compared to an average growth rate of 8.97% percent expected for its competitors in the same industry.

Among the 20 analysts Data provided by Thomson/First Call tracks, the 12-month average price target for EQT is $81.40 but some analysts are projecting the price to go as high as $91.00. If the optimistic analysts are correct, that represents a 17 percent upside potential from the recent closing price of $77.91. Some sell-side analysts, particularly the bearish ones, have called for $69.00 price targets on shares of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT).

In the last reported results, the company reported earnings of $0.01 per share, while analysts were calling for share earnings of $0.05. It was an earnings surprise of -80.00%percent. In the matter of earnings surprises, the term Cockroach Effect is often implied. Cockroach Effect is a market theory that suggests that when a company reveals bad news to the public, there may be many more related negative events that have yet to be revealed. In the case of earnings surprises, if a company is suggesting a negative earnings surprise it means there are more to come.

EQT Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments, EQT Production and EQT Midstream. The EQT Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil primarily in the Appalachian Basin. As of December 31, 2015, it had 10.0 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas, NGL, and crude oil reserves across approximately 3.4 million gross acres, including approximately 630,000 gross acres in the Marcellus play. The EQT Midstream segment provides natural gas gathering, transmission, and storage services for the companys produced gas, as well as for independent third parties in the Appalachian Basin. This segment owns or operates approximately 8,250 miles of gathering lines and 177 compressor units with approximately 255,000 horsepower of installed capacity. EQT Corporation was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.