Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Equinor ASA $EQNR

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Equinor ASA by 16.8% during the first quarter, leaving it with 90,553 shares valued at approximately $2.40 million.
• Equinor ASA reported earnings per share of $0.64, falling short of analysts' expectations, while also achieving a revenue of $25.12 billion against an estimated $23.88 billion.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.304, scheduled for payment on August 29th, with a remarkable dividend yield of 496.0%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,553 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,330 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $2,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EQNR. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Equinor ASA by 725.4% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 974 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the first quarter worth $53,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the first quarter worth $54,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the first quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Equinor ASA by 34.1% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company's stock.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of EQNR traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,253,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,108,469. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.48. Equinor ASA has a 1-year low of $21.41 and a 1-year high of $28.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $72.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.59.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.02). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $25.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.88 billion. Analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EQNR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Equinor ASA from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $22.70 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $22.71.

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.