NFJ Investment Group LLC Trims Stake in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,716 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQNR. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Equinor ASA by 20.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 75,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 12,585 shares during the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 115,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 4,626 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 94,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after buying an additional 9,512 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,253,000. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $317,000. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of EQNR stock opened at $23.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.41 and a fifty-two week high of $29.32. The firm has a market cap of $64.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.08.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.304 per share. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EQNR shares. Nordea Equity Research raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.10.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA, an energy company, engages in the exploration, production, transportation, refining, and marketing of petroleum and other forms of energy in Norway and internationally. It operates through Exploration & Production Norway; Exploration & Production International; Exploration & Production USA; Marketing, Midstream & Processing; Renewables; and Other segments.