Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.45.

Several research firms have recently commented on EQNR. Berenberg Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Redburn Atlantic raised Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 0.6 %

EQNR stock opened at $24.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $67.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.85 and a 12 month high of $29.32.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. Sell-side analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.82%. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 3,989 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 32,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 5,038 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 958.7% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,447,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,812 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 123,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 47,808 shares during the period. Finally, Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC now owns 490,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,611,000 after buying an additional 10,948 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

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.