Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.53 and last traded at $29.3450, with a volume of 1462777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQNR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Equinor ASA in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a positive change from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 64.21%.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQNR. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the third quarter worth approximately $730,757,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,759,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,659,611 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,437.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,286,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137,642 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 113.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,787,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,945,000 after acquiring an additional 948,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter worth $21,366,000. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.