NEW YORK, July 3, 2026, 15:01 EDT
- U.S. stock markets are closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday. EQT ended at $52.61 on July 2.
- The shares trade 22.9% under their 52-week peak, while analysts on Google Finance have an average target that’s 33.4% higher than the last price.
- The next thing for the stock isn’t really Friday’s holiday session, but Q2. EQT cut its volume outlook quarter-over-quarter and raised peak-year capex with earnings coming July 21.
EQT Corporation NYSE:EQT heads into the U.S. holiday trading near its 52-week low, with shares still well below last year’s high. But analysts’ price targets suggest a rebound above last year’s top is still in play.
The New York Stock Exchange will be shut on Friday, July 3, for Independence Day observed. So the most recent EQT closing price is Thursday’s $52.61, up 0.25%. Google Finance shows the 52-week range at $48.47 to $68.24. That puts Thursday’s finish 8.5% above the low, and 22.9% off the high.
The gap sets things up. EQT trades cheap compared to its recent range, but buyers aren’t ignoring the weak gas tape, a bigger storage print, and Q2 spending at its high.
| Latest market read | Price/level | Last change | Investor read |
|---|---|---|---|
| EQT Corporation NYSE:EQT | $52.61 | +0.25% | Shares still 22.9% under the 52-week high |
| Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLE) | $53.22 | +0.81% | XLE outperformed EQT on the session |
| United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSEARCA:UNG) | $11.58 | +0.43% | UNG moved up with other gas funds |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) | $744.78 | -0.11% | SPY finished a bit lower |
EQT trailed some of its gas-focused rivals in the last session before the holiday. Range Resources Corp NYSE:RRC added 2.25%, Antero Resources Corp NYSE:AR picked up 1.38%, and CNX Resources Corp NYSE:CNX was up 0.92%, the latest finance data show.
The commodity board offered one reason for the hesitation. U.S. natural gas futures dropped 0.7% to $3.196 per mmBtu after an 87 billion cubic feet injection into storage, according to the Energy Information Administration. That number tops the five-year average of 64 bcf, putting total inventories at 2,922 bcf, or 175 bcf over the five-year norm.
EQT’s Q1 numbers set up the next report as a more direct check than the stock. The company reported 618 Bcfe in sales volume, $608 million in capex and $1.83 billion in free cash flow attributable to EQT using its own non-GAAP metric. CEO Toby Rice called it “record free cash flow.” SEC
The company expects Q2 sales volume of 570-620 Bcfe, with 10-15 Bcfe from strategic curtailments. Maintenance capex is seen at $525 million to $595 million and growth capex at $210 million to $235 million. Q2 capex will be the high point for the year, the company said.
| EQT operating setup | Q1 actual | Q2 guide midpoint | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales volume | 618 Bcfe | 595 Bcfe | -3.7% |
| Capital expenditures | $608 mln | $782.5 mln | +28.7% |
| Strategic curtailments | Not stated | 12.5 Bcfe | 2.1% of Q2 midpoint |
July 21 is the date to watch. EQT plans to post Q2 results after the close, then hold its call the next morning at 10:00 a.m. ET on July 22. Investors will see if Q2 spending pressure hit cash flow or if well costs and price realizations left the balance sheet on track.
Most analysts remain bullish. Google Finance counted 17 buys, four holds, and no sells out of 21 analysts over the last three months. The average 12-month target stands at $70.19, about 33% above where shares closed Thursday. Latest calls on the name: Jefferies’ Lloyd Byrne at $75 as of July 1, Wells Fargo’s Sam Margolin at $79 on June 30, RBC Capital’s Scott Hanold at $69 on June 29, and Morgan Stanley’s Devin McDermott at $68 on June 29.
| Analyst/firms listed by Google Finance | Date | Rating | Target | Upside vs $52.61 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lloyd Byrne at Jefferies | July 1 | Buy | $75 | 42.6% |
| Sam Margolin from Wells Fargo | June 30 | Buy | $79 | 50.2% |
| Scott Hanold at RBC Capital | June 29 | Hold | $69 | 31.2% |
| Devin McDermott with Morgan Stanley | June 29 | Buy | $68 | 29.3% |
The operational story got less attention than the financials. EQT just drilled the Longwell 9H, which, according to Pittsburgh Business Times on Friday, hit 37,610 feet measured depth and a 29,070-foot lateral. It finished early in June. Two weeks ago, EQT posted on LinkedIn saying the lateral was drilled 100% in target with zero hazard points.
Longer laterals are key as the company moves to protect cash flow with gas at about $3.20. More lateral footage per pad can cut development costs, but investors want to see proof in Q2. The company’s guidance shows lower volume and higher capex than last quarter, which means the stock needs a solid update next time around.
LNG demand is holding up. U.S. LNG exports climbed to 10.6 million metric tons in June, Reuters said this week. Asia bought 3.25 million tons, while Egypt took a record 1.06 million tons. Hans van Cleef, head of energy research at Eqolibrium, told Reuters some European buyers are buying “very little gas” as “the fear of paying too much prevails.” Reuters
EQT heads into next week with a tight setup: shares trading close to one-year lows, analyst targets still sitting higher, and a Q2 print coming in under three weeks. The big question is whether the Longwell cost story can balance out storage drag and peak capex.
