EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) underperformance this year appears to be taking a toll on the stock’s overall sentiment on Wall Street. The stock has been trading in a range since August and is currently down by more than 5% for the year.
Institutional Holding
Regulatory filings indicate that Jana Partners LCC has trimmed its stake in the company. The hedge fund currently owns 9.77 million shares of the natural gas company, down from a holding of 10.26 million shares as of September.
Vanguard is still the largest investor in EQT Corp with a holding of 17.8 million shares, valued at $1.16 billion shares. JPMorgan comes a close second, with a holding of 17.49 million shares valued at $1.14 billion. BlackRock wraps up the top 3 largest investors in EQT Corp with a holding of 14.35 million shares, valued at $936.77 million.
Revelations that Jana Partners trimmed its stake in the company follows the completion of the acquisition of Rice Energy. The hedge fund had been vocal against the proposed merger as it pushed for a spin-off of some of EQT Corp units.
Rice Energy Acquisition
EQT Corp acquired the company for $6.7 billion making it the largest deal in the U.S upstream industry, in three years. The merger brings together two leading producers of natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica Shale places. The combined company will become the largest natural gas in the country, in addition to increasing EQT acreage in the two shale plays.
EQT Corp and Rice Energy are already among the low-cost producers of natural gas in the U.S shale resource. The merger is thus expected to result in a combined company with low operating costs that could result in cost synergy of up to $2.5 billion.
“With the closing of the transaction, we are combining two of the leading operators in the Appalachian Basin to create an even stronger company that is positioned to deliver greater returns to shareholders through operating efficiencies and improved overall well economics,” said Steve Schlotterbeck, EQT's president and chief executive officer.
