Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Sells 925,712 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lowered its stake in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 49.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 943,118 shares of the company’s stock after selling 925,712 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $22,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Equinor ASA Stock Down 1.6 %

EQNR opened at $22.90 on Thursday. Equinor ASA has a twelve month low of $21.41 and a twelve month high of $29.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) 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). The firm had revenue of $27.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. Equities research analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.304 per share. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 38.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQNR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Nordea Equity Research raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Equinor ASA from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Danske upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.60.

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.