Integrated energy player EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) reported second-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings per share of 6 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cents. The bottom line also compared favorably with a loss of 35 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Net operating revenue in the quarter rose a stupendous 442% year over year to $690.8 million and also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $631 million.
Strong second-quarter results were supported by improved production sales volumes and average realized commodity prices.
Segment Details
EQT Production reported second-quarter adjusted operating revenues of $566.1 million, up 45.1% year over year.
Adjusted operating loss was $4.2 million, substantially narrower than $118 million loss in the year-earlier quarter.
The improvement was mainly driven by higher production sales volumes and average realized commodity prices.
In the EQT Gathering segment, net gathering revenue increased 12% year over year to $112.2 million on higher gathered volumes.
Operating income rose 14% year over year to $83.3 million in the reported quarter.
In the EQT Transmission segment, net transmission revenues grew 11.6% to $86.8 million.
Operating income jumped 3.4% year over year to $57.8 million in the quarter under review.
Financials
The company’s adjusted operating cash flow was $223.3 million during the quarter, up 112% year over year.
EQT Corp.’s capital expenditure totaled $539.3 million in the quarter. This includes $455.7 million spent on EQT Production, $53.7 million invested in EQT Gathering and $29.9 million in EQT Transmission.
Q2 Price Performance
EQT Corp. has lost 4.1% in the second quarter as compared with the 16.9% decline of its industry.
Guidance
Production sales volumes for 2017 are projected in the range of 825–840 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe). Liquids volumes are estimated at 19,050–19,650 thousand barrel of oil equivalent (MBBl).
Production sales volumes for third-quarter 2017 are projected at 205–210 Bcfe. Liquids volumes are estimated in the range of 4,805–4,835 MBBls.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
EQT Corp. currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked players in the energy sector include TransCanada Corporation (TO:TRP) , Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) and Pembina Pipeline Corporation (NYSE:PBA) . All the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
TransCanada posted average positive earnings surprise of 1.06% over the last four quarters.
Petrobras also reported an average positive earnings surprise of 59.58% for the last four quarters.
Pembina Pipeline’s 2017 earnings are projected to grow more than 90%.
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