First Trust Advisors LP Acquires Shares of 18,723 Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 18,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Folketrygdfondet increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company's stock worth $2,640,631,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300,472 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 3,159.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,649,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568,095 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Equinor ASA by 975.0% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 842,580 shares of the company's stock worth $19,961,000 after acquiring an additional 764,204 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Equinor ASA by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,151,104 shares of the company's stock worth $98,340,000 after acquiring an additional 399,861 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth about $9,043,000. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company's stock.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of EQNR traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $23.12. 4,537,106 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,553,937. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.41 and a one year high of $29.32. The firm has a market cap of $64.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.43, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.84 and a 200-day moving average of $23.81.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.17). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. The firm had revenue of $27.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.304 per share. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Pareto Securities raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Nordea Equity Research raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.85.

Equinor ASA Company 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.