First Trust Advisors LP Takes $444,000 Position in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 18,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 worth $2,388,000 after buying an additional 9,512 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth about $317,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 157,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,739,000 after purchasing an additional 59,254 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of EQNR stock opened at $23.01 on Friday. Equinor ASA has a 12-month low of $21.41 and a 12-month high of $29.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $64.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.17). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. The firm had revenue of $27.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.16 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.304 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.28%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. HSBC upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Danske upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Equinor ASA from $30.90 to $28.20 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.60.

Equinor ASA Profile

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.