Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Equinox Gold Corp. $EQX

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,060,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,388,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.28% of Equinox Gold at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Equinox Gold by 91.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 96,024,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,077,394,000 after buying an additional 45,820,861 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Equinox Gold during the 3rd quarter worth $40,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinox Gold by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,714,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,665,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250,135 shares during the last quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. grew its position in Equinox Gold by 717.8% in the third quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 3,526,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,564,000 after acquiring an additional 3,094,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Equinox Gold by 795.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,840,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,248,000 after acquiring an additional 2,523,122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.85% of the company’s stock.

Equinox Gold Stock Performance

NYSEAMERICAN EQX opened at $11.50 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.47. 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 Corp. has a 12-month low of $5.61 and a 12-month high of $18.96. The firm has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.18.

Equinox Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.28 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 company had revenue of $861.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $896.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 224.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equinox Gold Corp. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Equinox Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Equinox Gold’s payout ratio is 11.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQX. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Equinox Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research cut Equinox Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinox Gold presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Equinox Gold Company 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.