Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,506 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,677 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $6,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 3,016 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on EQNR. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Equinor ASA from $30.90 to $28.20 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Danske raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Nordea Equity Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Shares of EQNR stock opened at $23.40 on Friday. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.85 and a fifty-two week high of $29.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $65.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 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.