Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.10.

EQNR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Equinor ASA from $30.90 to $28.20 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nordea Equity Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of EQNR stock opened at $23.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.85 and a fifty-two week high of $29.32. The firm has a market cap of $65.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $24.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.22.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 37.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Folketrygdfondet lifted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,640,631,000 after buying an additional 4,300,472 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 3,159.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,649,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568,095 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 958.7% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,447,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,812 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Equinor ASA by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,015,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,061,000 after acquiring an additional 899,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Equinor ASA by 975.0% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 842,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,961,000 after purchasing an additional 764,204 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equinor ASA

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.