Keating Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 36,978 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Keating Investment Counselors Inc. cut its position in shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,978 shares during the period. Equinor ASA comprises about 1.9% of Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $6,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EQNR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,751,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,019,000 after acquiring an additional 132,157 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 522,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,242,000 after buying an additional 16,303 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $9,043,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,203,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,993,000 after acquiring an additional 23,213 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on EQNR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Danske raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Down 1.3 %

Equinor ASA stock opened at $23.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Equinor ASA has a 1-year low of $21.85 and a 1-year high of $29.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.73. The company has a market cap of $64.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. Research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.06%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

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.