Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.71.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EQNR shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Pareto Securities raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Equinor ASA by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Equinor ASA by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 19,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 4.5% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 10.9% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQNR opened at $23.82 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.79. Equinor ASA has a 1 year low of $21.41 and a 1 year high of $29.32. The company has a market capitalization of $66.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. 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 (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $27.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.16 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. On average, research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.304 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.84%.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

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.