Equinor ASA Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:EQNR)

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 5,193 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 24% compared to the average volume of 4,196 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQNR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group raised Equinor ASA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lowered Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Pareto Securities upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equinor ASA presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $28.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,794.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 119.2% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equinor ASA Trading Down 5.4%

EQNR stock opened at $39.37 on Tuesday. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.41 and a 12 month high of $42.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.58 and its 200 day moving average is $25.82. The company has a market capitalization of $115.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.21%.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) is a Norway-based integrated energy company headquartered in Stavanger. Historically established as Statoil in the 1970s to develop Norway’s petroleum resources, the company changed its name to Equinor in 2018 to reflect a strategic shift toward a broader energy portfolio. Equinor’s operations span the full upstream value chain, including exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, alongside trading and marketing activities that support its global commercial operations.

In recent years Equinor has pursued a transition strategy that combines continued development of conventional oil and gas resources with growing investments in low‑carbon energy.