Advisors Preferred LLC Has $258,000 Holdings in Equinor ASA $EQNR

Key Points

• Advisors Preferred LLC cut its stake in Equinor ASA by 77.0% in Q4, leaving 10,490 shares valued at about $258,000.
• Analysts’ views are mixed—several firms upgraded or adjusted targets, but the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average target price of $34.61.
• Equinor beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.81 vs $0.60; revenue $25.26B vs $21.31B) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.39 (annualized $1.56, ~3.8% yield).

Advisors Preferred LLC reduced its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) by 77.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,490 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,025 shares during the quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC's holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Equinor ASA by 119.2% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Equinor ASA by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Equinor ASA by 172.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,174 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on EQNR. UBS Group upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $40.40 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Pareto Securities cut shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Equinor ASA from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of Equinor ASA stock opened at $41.30 on Tuesday. Equinor ASA has a 1 year low of $22.26 and a 1 year high of $43.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.77. The company has a market capitalization of $121.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $25.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 4.73 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This is a boost from Equinor ASA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.21%.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA NYSE: EQNR is a Norway-based integrated energy company headquartered in Stavanger. Historically established as Statoil in the 1970s to develop Norway's petroleum resources, the company changed its name to Equinor in 2018 to reflect a strategic shift toward a broader energy portfolio. Equinor's operations span the full upstream value chain, including exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, alongside trading and marketing activities that support its global commercial operations.

In recent years Equinor has pursued a transition strategy that combines continued development of conventional oil and gas resources with growing investments in low‑carbon energy.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.