LPL Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) by 82.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,019 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,492 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $1,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Folketrygdfondet raised its position in Equinor ASA by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,640,631,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300,472 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,043,000. Drum Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $4,023,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 157,810 shares of the company's stock worth $3,739,000 after acquiring an additional 59,254 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $1,253,000. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EQNR shares. HSBC raised Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Equinor ASA from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Danske upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of 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 given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equinor ASA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE EQNR traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.82. 973,792 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,512,724. Equinor ASA has a 1-year low of $21.41 and a 1-year high of $29.32. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $23.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.73 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, 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 (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The business 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 $0.304 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.33%. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.