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

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com 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 target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.71.

EQNR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $26.44 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Equinor ASA from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Voya Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,459,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Equinor ASA by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 35,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 5,962 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter valued at $816,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the first quarter valued at about $247,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Equinor ASA by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 112,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

EQNR stock opened at $27.79 on Friday. Equinor ASA has a 1 year low of $21.41 and a 1 year high of $29.03. The stock has a market cap of $77.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.00.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.17). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business had revenue of $27.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.16 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.304 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.61%.

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.