HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 102,945 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 50.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102,945 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $2,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EQNR. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 23,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 2,159 shares during the period. Folketrygdfondet boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,640,631,000 after buying an additional 4,300,472 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth $485,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth $909,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 62,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after buying an additional 24,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE EQNR opened at $25.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.16. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $71.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. 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 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is 37.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EQNR shares. Barclays raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Danske raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DZ Bank raised 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 assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Company 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.