Sarasin & Partners LLP Grows Stock Position in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 35.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 547,576 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 141,949 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $13,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions 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 worth $2,640,631,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,472 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 3,159.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,649,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568,095 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Equinor ASA by 958.7% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,447,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,812 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 771.8% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,015,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,061,000 after purchasing an additional 899,157 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 975.0% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 842,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,961,000 after purchasing an additional 764,204 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

NYSE:EQNR opened at $24.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.93, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.57. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.81. Equinor ASA has a 1 year low of $21.41 and a 1 year high of $29.03.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its 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 net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The firm had revenue of $27.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.16 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.304 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 46.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQNR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut Equinor ASA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.70 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 12th. HSBC upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.71.

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.