Avalon Trust Co Buys New Position in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EQNR. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,284,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,241,000 after acquiring an additional 444,435 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 5.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,774,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,974,000 after acquiring an additional 134,688 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,438,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,183,000 after acquiring an additional 18,694 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Equinor ASA by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 805,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,479,000 after acquiring an additional 14,466 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 694,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,983,000 after purchasing an additional 139,952 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of EQNR traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.41. The stock had a trading volume of 4,579,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,034,641. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $85.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.78 and its 200 day moving average is $29.21. Equinor ASA has a 12-month low of $24.44 and a 12-month high of $34.73.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.44). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.30%. The firm had revenue of $29.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.35 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $26.40 to $28.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.25.

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.