Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Boosts Holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,410 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,600 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $3,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 62,732 shares of the company's stock worth $1,486,000 after buying an additional 24,090 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,043,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $909,000. Folketrygdfondet increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,640,631,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 94,267 shares of the company's stock worth $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 9,512 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Shares of EQNR stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $23.06. 3,086,261 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,487,750. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.91. The company has a market cap of $64.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Equinor ASA has a 12-month low of $21.41 and a 12-month high of $29.32.

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, sell-side analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid 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 yield of 5.27%. Equinor ASA's payout ratio is presently 38.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on EQNR. Hsbc Global Res raised Equinor ASA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. HSBC upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Danske upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Equinor ASA from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.10.

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.