Rhumbline Advisers Reduces Stock Position in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its stake in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,671 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth about $9,043,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,685,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 3.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,751,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,019,000 after acquiring an additional 132,157 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,509,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on EQNR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Pareto Securities raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Danske upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

NYSE EQNR opened at $23.18 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.34. Equinor ASA has a 52 week low of $21.85 and a 52 week high of $29.32. The stock has a market cap of $64.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.04%. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

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.