Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) is Folketrygdfondet’s Largest Position

Folketrygdfondet grew its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 111,466,079 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,300,472 shares during the quarter. Equinor ASA makes up about 59.3% of Folketrygdfondet’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Folketrygdfondet’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $2,640,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQNR. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 325.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 3,016 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQNR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of Equinor ASA stock opened at $23.18 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Equinor ASA has a 52-week low of $21.85 and a 52-week high of $29.32. The company has a market cap of $64.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.45, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.04%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.30%.

Equinor ASA 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.