Equinor ASA $EQNR Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Key Points

• Gradient Investments reduced its Equinor stake by 14.3% in the third quarter, selling 26,871 shares and retaining 160,752 shares valued at approximately $6.69 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but has improved, with several firms upgrading Equinor to Buy or Strong Buy. The stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and a target price of $43.47.
• Equinor shares were up 3.2% at $42.92, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, representing an annualized yield of approximately 3.6%.

Gradient Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) by 14.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 160,752 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,871 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $6,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Equinor ASA by 4.5% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 130.2% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 0.7% in the second quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 124,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,909,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQNR. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Equinor ASA from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.47.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $42.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business's 50-day moving average is $42.23 and its 200-day moving average is $39.06. Equinor ASA has a 1 year low of $22.26 and a 1 year high of $45.84.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $34.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.03 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 23.60%. Equities research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

Equinor ASA is a Norwegian energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing, transportation, marketing and trading of oil and natural gas. The company also operates in renewable energy and other lower-carbon activities, including offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen initiatives.

Equinor's operations are centered on the Norwegian continental shelf, where it is one of the leading producers of oil and natural gas. The company also has international exploration, production and energy projects across regions including Europe, North America, South America and Africa.

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.