Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.70.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EQNR shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.40 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Pareto Securities downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 1,794.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $33.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $99.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.06. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $22.26 and a 12 month high of $43.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.79.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $28.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.73 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 20.01%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is 58.72%.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

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.