Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Reduces Position in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,593 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Equinor ASA by 62.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 109,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 41,981 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter worth about $432,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 108,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,000 after buying an additional 13,179 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 46,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 7,250 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:EQNR opened at $25.18 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.85 and a fifty-two week high of $29.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a P/E/G 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 net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid 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 yield of 5.56%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EQNR shares. Berenberg Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Redburn Atlantic raised Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Nordea Equity Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Danske 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.10.

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.