Bank of Montreal Can Sells 60,655 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) by 38.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,139 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,655 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $2,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 13,251 shares of the company's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 5,683 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 108,883 shares of the company's stock worth $2,579,000 after acquiring an additional 3,491 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Equinor ASA by 245.7% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 27,344 shares of the company's stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 19,434 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC bought a new position in Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at $465,000. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at about $398,000. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQNR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Danske upgraded Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Pareto Securities raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of EQNR stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.20. The stock had a trading volume of 4,830,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,521,948. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $23.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. Equinor ASA has a 52-week low of $21.41 and a 52-week high of $29.32.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors 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 yield of 5.24%. Equinor ASA's payout ratio is 38.91%.

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.