Zacks Research Upgrades Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) to Strong-Buy

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

EQNR has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America cut shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.40 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Equinor ASA from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 1.6%

EQNR stock opened at $41.11 on Wednesday. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.41 and a one year high of $42.06. The stock has a market cap of $121.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.14. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. Equities analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 14,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 37,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Equinor ASA by 1.8% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equinor ASA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Equinor ASA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks has added EQNR to several Rank #1 lists (momentum, strong buy, income and value), boosting investor interest and momentum positioning for the stock. New Strong Buy Stocks for March 26th
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley upgraded EQNR (per coverage), an analyst action that can prompt buy flows and validate valuation upside for institutional investors. Equinor ASA Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Equinor and Shell’s Adura Energy JV secured $3B in lending support for North Sea operations — this large financing package lowers project funding risk and signals bank confidence in regional production plans. Shell-Equinor JV Secures $3B Lending Support for North Sea Operations
• Positive Sentiment: Equinor has begun drilling at the Raia project in Brazil, a ~$9B development targeting first gas in 2028 — successful execution would materially increase gas volumes to meet rising Brazilian demand. Equinor Begins Drilling at Raia, Strengthens Brazil’s Gas Supply
• Neutral Sentiment: Equinor CEO commented that the EU is unlikely to increase Russian gas imports amid Middle East supply disruption — a macro view that may support European suppliers like Equinor but also reflects broader geopolitical uncertainty. CERAWEEK: Equinor CEO says EU unlikely to increase Russian gas imports
• Neutral Sentiment: Market data shows unusually high options activity in EQNR, indicating elevated speculative or hedging interest; this can amplify intraday moves but is not a direct signal of fundamentals. Equinor ASA Target of Unusually High Options Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Equinor awarded a helicopter contract in Bergen to bolster offshore transport capacity — an operational detail that supports safe, reliable field logistics but has limited direct equity impact. Equinor Bolsters Helicopter Capacity in Bergen

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.