Hennessy Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) by 33.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 219,600 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 55,200 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $5,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Folketrygdfondet increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.0% in the 4th 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. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Equinor ASA by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,121,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,636,000 after purchasing an additional 188,709 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 3,159.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,649,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568,095 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 958.7% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,447,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,812 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equinor ASA Stock Down 0.8%

Equinor ASA stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.87. 3,632,971 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,658,156. The company has a market capitalization of $77.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.57. The business's 50 day moving average is $23.82 and its 200 day moving average is $23.93. Equinor ASA has a 52 week low of $21.41 and a 52 week high of $29.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.17). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 8.07%. The firm had revenue of $27.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. Analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.304 dividend. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Equinor ASA's payout ratio is 46.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on EQNR shares. Barclays downgraded Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Redburn Atlantic cut Equinor ASA from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $22.70 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.71.

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.