The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stock Position in Equinox Gold Corp. $EQX

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its Equinox Gold stake by 5.4% in the first quarter, selling 322,848 shares and retaining 5.62 million shares worth approximately $81.2 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard, increased their positions, while institutional investors collectively own 38.85% of Equinox Gold’s outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with an average “Buy” rating and a $13 price target, although the company slightly missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,623,461 shares of the company's stock after selling 322,848 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.71% of Equinox Gold worth $81,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new position in Equinox Gold during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,061,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equinox Gold by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,142,985 shares of the company's stock worth $16,064,000 after acquiring an additional 201,000 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinox Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Equinox Gold during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,375,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equinox Gold by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,714,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,665,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250,135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EQX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Equinox Gold from a "buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equinox Gold in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equinox Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Equinox Gold from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinox Gold currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $13.00.

Equinox Gold Price Performance

NYSEAMERICAN:EQX opened at $8.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 1.26. Equinox Gold Corp. has a 1 year low of $6.01 and a 1 year high of $18.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Equinox Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.01). Equinox Gold had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $861.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $896.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 224.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Equinox Gold Corp. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Equinox Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.015 per share. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Equinox Gold's payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

Equinox Gold Company Profile

Equinox Gold Corp is a Canadian gold mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, and operation of gold properties, with an emphasis on open-pit heap leach mining. Since its inception, Equinox Gold has pursued a strategy of combining assets in established jurisdictions to build a diversified portfolio that balances production and growth, while maintaining rigorous safety and environmental standards.

Equinox Gold's operating portfolio spans three countries.

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