Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.20.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EQNR shares. DZ Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Equinor ASA from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Equinor ASA from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Shares of EQNR opened at $41.09 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $35.74 and its 200-day moving average is $34.54. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $22.26 and a 12 month high of $43.46. The firm has a market cap of $98.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $34.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.03 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 23.60%. Equities analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EQNR. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 11.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 148,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,932,000 after acquiring an additional 14,913 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter valued at $263,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake 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. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter valued at $816,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equinor ASA

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.