JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in Equinor ASA $EQNR

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) by 1,437.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,286,328 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,137,642 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.08% of Equinor ASA worth $55,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the second quarter worth about $36,000. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the 2nd quarter valued at $77,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 378.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 13.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EQNR. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America lowered Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Pareto Securities raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $29.13 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.38. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.41 and a one year high of $29.39.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a boost from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.21%.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) is a Norway-based integrated energy company headquartered in Stavanger. Historically established as Statoil in the 1970s to develop Norway’s petroleum resources, the company changed its name to Equinor in 2018 to reflect a strategic shift toward a broader energy portfolio. Equinor’s operations span the full upstream value chain, including exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, alongside trading and marketing activities that support its global commercial operations.

In recent years Equinor has pursued a transition strategy that combines continued development of conventional oil and gas resources with growing investments in low‑carbon energy.