Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Upgraded to Buy at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on EQNR. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com lowered Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Nordea Equity Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Shares of EQNR stock opened at $24.53 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.93 and a 200 day moving average of $24.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83. Equinor ASA has a 1 year low of $21.85 and a 1 year high of $29.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. As a group, research analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 37.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,933,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Equinor ASA by 52.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 24,052 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,509,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Equinor ASA by 9.2% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Equinor ASA by 52.1% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 29,516 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.