Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 718,873 Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 96.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,082 shares of the company’s stock after selling 718,873 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Equinor ASA were worth $689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter worth $1,933,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the third quarter valued at about $2,509,000. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter worth about $9,043,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 11.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 94,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,388,000 after buying an additional 9,512 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after buying an additional 29,516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

EQNR opened at $22.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.29, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.83. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.85 and a fifty-two week high of $29.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.95 and a 200 day moving average of $24.44.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQNR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Pareto Securities upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equinor ASA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

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.