Bank of Nova Scotia Invests $310,000 in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Folketrygdfondet increased its stake in 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,151,104 shares of the company's stock worth $98,340,000 after purchasing an additional 399,861 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased 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 buying an additional 764,204 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 557,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,207,000 after buying an additional 34,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. OLD Mission Capital LLC now owns 475,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,260,000 after buying an additional 1,722 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Nordea Equity Research raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Equinor ASA from $30.90 to $28.20 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Danske upgraded Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE EQNR traded down $0.37 on Monday, reaching $22.95. 292,885 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,503,320. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $23.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.03. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.41 and a 12 month high of $29.32. The company has a market cap of $64.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Equinor ASA's payout ratio 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.