Equinor ASA (EQNR) and Its Peers Critical Contrast

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) is one of 1,050 publicly-traded companies in the “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Equinor ASA to similar businesses based on the strength of its earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Dividends

Equinor ASA pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Equinor ASA pays out 26.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.6% and pay out -122.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Equinor ASA lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Equinor ASA and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equinor ASA	9.71%	27.87%	8.57%
Equinor ASA Competitors	-471.71%	20.53%	6.26%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Equinor ASA and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equinor ASA	$106.46 billion	$5.04 billion	9.40
Equinor ASA Competitors	$272.89 billion	$5.52 billion	0.21

Equinor ASA’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Equinor ASA. Equinor ASA is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Equinor ASA has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equinor ASA’s peers have a beta of -4.04, suggesting that their average share price is 504% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Equinor ASA and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equinor ASA	2	12	3	1	2.17
Equinor ASA Competitors	5964	26943	40767	2408	2.52

Equinor ASA currently has a consensus price target of $43.47, suggesting a potential downside of 3.86%. As a group, “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies have a potential upside of 22.19%. Given Equinor ASA’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Equinor ASA has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

5.5% of Equinor ASA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.7% of shares of all “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Equinor ASA shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of shares of all “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Equinor ASA peers beat Equinor ASA on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Equinor ASA

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. The company also transports, processes, manufactures, markets, and trades in oil and gas commodities, such as crude and condensate products, gas liquids, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas; trades in power and emissions; operates refineries, terminals and processing, and power plants; and develops low carbon solutions for oil and gas. In addition, it develops carbon capture and storage projects; provides transportation solutions, including pipelines, shipping, trucking, and rail; and develops and explores for renewable energy, such as offshore wind, green hydrogen, and solar power. The company was formerly known as Statoil ASA and changed its name to Equinor ASA in May 2018. Equinor ASA was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway.