Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $47.23 and last traded at $47.7170, with a volume of 97,267 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Morningstar lowered Equinor ASA to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. SEB Equity Research reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.47.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 4.5%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $115.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.13.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $34.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.03 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 23.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 5.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 599.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,966,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,194,000 after purchasing an additional 11,112,362 shares during the period. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 33.2% during the third quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 414,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,776,000 after purchasing an additional 103,197 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 21.2% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 220,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,290,000 after buying an additional 38,522 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Equinor ASA in the first quarter worth approximately $8,745,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the first quarter valued at $8,582,000. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA is a Norwegian energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. Founded in 1972 as Den norske stats oljeselskap, the company was later known as Statoil and StatoilHydro before adopting the Equinor name in 2018. The Norwegian state remains its largest shareholder.

Equinor’s core business is the exploration, development, production and marketing of oil and natural gas, with Norway’s continental shelf serving as its principal operating area. The company also processes and markets energy products and supplies natural gas and crude oil to customers in Europe and other international markets.

In addition to its oil and gas operations, Equinor is developing lower-carbon energy businesses, including offshore wind, solar power, carbon capture and storage, and other renewable energy projects.