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Here's Why Investors Should Hold on to EQT Stock Right Now

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EQT Corporation (EQT - Free Report) has gained 21.4% year to date against a 7.1% decline of the composite stocks belonging to the industry.

What's Favoring the Stock?

EQT, carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is a premium natural gas producer in North America. In the prolific Appalachian Basin, the upstream player has a strong foothold in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. With significant core drilling locations spreading across the prospective plays, the company’s production outlook looks solid. Thus, EQT is well-positioned to capitalize on clean energy demand, as natural gas is a relatively cleaner-burning fossil fuel.

The company is at the forefront among the composite stocks when it comes to establishing emissions reduction goals. EQT’s ambitious goal is to achieve net zero scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 or sooner.

Risks

Compared to composite stocks within the industry, EQT has a greater reliance on debt capital. In fact, over the last two years, the company’s debt-to-capitalization ratio has consistently been higher than the composite stocks.

EQT's engagement in exploration and production activities leaves it vulnerable to significant fluctuations in oil and gas prices, resulting in a highly unpredictable business environment for this upstream energy company. This is evident in EQT's beta value of 1.22, indicating that the company experiences greater volatility than the broader market.

Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked players in the energy space include Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI - Free Report) , Profire Energy, Inc. (PFIE - Free Report) and Pioneer Natural Resources Company . While Kinder Morgan and Profire Energy carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), Pioneer Natural sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.  

With its operating interests in oil and gas pipeline networks spread across 83,000 miles, Kinder Morgan is a leading energy infrastructure company in North America. It derives most of its earnings from take-or-pay contracts, generating stable fee-based revenues.

Profire Energy is mainly focused on the oil and gas industry’s upstream, midstream and downstream transmission segments. PFIE has boasted that its legacy business is doing extremely well, thanks to the resumption of maintenance work of exploration and production players.

Pioneer Natural has a strong presence in the low-cost, oil-rich Midland basin — a sub-basin of the broader Permian. The upstream energy player has a massive inventory of premium wells that will likely generate significant returns for the company.


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