Legal & General Group Plc Has $28.09 Million Stake in Equinox Gold Corp. $EQX

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in shares of Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,998,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 286,464 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.25% of Equinox Gold worth $28,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Equinox Gold by 91.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 96,024,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,077,394,000 after acquiring an additional 45,820,861 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equinox Gold by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,714,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,665,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250,135 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equinox Gold by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 16,644,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336,100 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Equinox Gold by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,819,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Equinox Gold by 14.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,845,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,888 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on EQX. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Equinox Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Equinox Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Equinox Gold Stock Performance

Shares of EQX opened at $13.54 on Monday. Equinox Gold Corp. has a one year low of $5.61 and a one year high of $18.96. The company has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.82 and a 200-day moving average of $14.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Equinox Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.01). Equinox Gold had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 21.72%.The firm had revenue of $861.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $896.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 224.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equinox Gold Corp. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinox Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Equinox Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.11%.

About Equinox Gold

Equinox Gold Corp is a Canadian gold mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, and operation of gold properties, with an emphasis on open-pit heap leach mining. Since its inception, Equinox Gold has pursued a strategy of combining assets in established jurisdictions to build a diversified portfolio that balances production and growth, while maintaining rigorous safety and environmental standards.

Equinox Gold’s operating portfolio spans three countries.