Chase Investment Counsel Corp Buys 12,000 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its stake in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 22.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 66,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $1,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Equinor ASA by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Equinor ASA by 12.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. raised its position in Equinor ASA by 1.2% in the third quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 81,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in Equinor ASA by 4.9% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 26,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $23.39 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.95 and a 200 day moving average of $24.52. The stock has a market cap of $65.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.83. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.85 and a 12 month high of $29.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on EQNR. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.45.

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.