Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stock Position in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 179,909 shares of the company’s stock after selling 93,127 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $4,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 3,016 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Equinor ASA from $30.90 to $28.20 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. HSBC raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Shares of Equinor ASA stock opened at $23.25 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.12. The company has a market cap of $64.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.47, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.41 and a one year high of $29.32.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. On average, research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders 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 5.23%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.91%.

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.