Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 603,803 Shares of Equinox Gold Corp. $EQX

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,449,178 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 603,803 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Equinox Gold were worth $174,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EQX. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Equinox Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equinox Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB bought a new stake in Equinox Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Equinox Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in Equinox Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 38.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equinox Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:EQX opened at $10.46 on Wednesday. Equinox Gold Corp. has a 52 week low of $5.61 and a 52 week high of $18.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

Equinox Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.015 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Equinox Gold’s payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQX has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Equinox Gold from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Equinox Gold from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Equinox Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Equinox Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinox Gold has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Equinox Gold Profile

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.