Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 487 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,288 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the third quarter worth $31,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $115,000. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

EQNR opened at $23.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.83 billion, a PE ratio of 7.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.65. Equinor ASA has a 12-month low of $21.85 and a 12-month high of $29.32.

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

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQNR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Pareto Securities upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Nordea Equity Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.45.

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.