Equinor ASA $EQNR Stake Decreased by Folketrygdfondet

Folketrygdfondet lessened its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,239,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,206,934 shares during the period. Equinor ASA accounts for about 0.2% of Folketrygdfondet’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Folketrygdfondet owned 3.54% of Equinor ASA worth $2,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQNR. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 11.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 148,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,932,000 after buying an additional 14,913 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the first quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 112,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the first quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 50.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 1,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $36.72 on Friday. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $22.26 and a 12 month high of $43.46. The stock has a market cap of $108.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.47. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm had revenue of $28.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.73 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is presently 58.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQNR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. DZ Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.40 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group raised Equinor ASA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Pareto Securities cut Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.20.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) is a Norway-based integrated energy company headquartered in Stavanger. Historically established as Statoil in the 1970s to develop Norway’s petroleum resources, the company changed its name to Equinor in 2018 to reflect a strategic shift toward a broader energy portfolio. Equinor’s operations span the full upstream value chain, including exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, alongside trading and marketing activities that support its global commercial operations.

In recent years Equinor has pursued a transition strategy that combines continued development of conventional oil and gas resources with growing investments in low‑carbon energy.