Stifel Financial Corp Sells 12,259 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Stifel Financial Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,216 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,259 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $1,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Folketrygdfondet boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,300,472 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 3,159.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,649,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568,095 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 975.0% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 842,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,961,000 after acquiring an additional 764,204 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,151,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,340,000 after acquiring an additional 399,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth about $9,043,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Danske upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Nordea Equity Research raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.60.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 0.9 %

EQNR opened at $23.31 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.84. The company has a market capitalization of $65.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.49, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. Equinor ASA has a 1-year low of $21.41 and a 1-year high of $29.32. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.17). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The company had revenue of $27.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.304 per share. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.29%.

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.