Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.10.

EQNR has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Danske upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Pareto Securities upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQNR. Folketrygdfondet boosted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,640,631,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,472 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,151,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,340,000 after purchasing an additional 399,861 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,121,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,636,000 after buying an additional 188,709 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 3,159.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,649,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,764,000 after buying an additional 2,568,095 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 958.7% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,447,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,292,000 after buying an additional 1,310,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of EQNR opened at $22.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.87. The firm has a market cap of $62.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Equinor ASA has a 1-year low of $21.41 and a 1-year high of $29.32.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $27.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.304 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.45%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.91%.

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.