Earnest Partners LLC Sells 60,748 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,705,738 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,748 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.13% of Equinor ASA worth $87,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in Equinor ASA by 254.5% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,009.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,497 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQNR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Nordea Equity Research raised Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC raised Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Equinor ASA from $30.90 to $28.20 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. DZ Bank raised Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Equinor ASA from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

EQNR stock traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.28. 6,394,654 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,508,567. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.90. 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 52 week low of $21.41 and a 52 week high of $29.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.22 billion, a PE ratio of 7.16, 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, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.18). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The business had revenue of $27.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.304 dividend. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Equinor ASA's payout ratio is presently 38.91%.

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.