Flputnam Investment Management Co. Trims Holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 96.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,082 shares of the company’s stock after selling 718,873 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Equinor ASA by 12.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EQNR shares. Nordea Equity Research raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Danske raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Shares of EQNR stock opened at $22.67 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.44. Equinor ASA has a 52 week low of $21.85 and a 52 week high of $29.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.83.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.30%.

About Equinor ASA

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.