Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Earns "Sector Perform" Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EQNR. Barclays raised Equinor ASA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Equinor ASA from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQNR traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,353,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,249,365. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.85 and a one year high of $29.32. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio is 37.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQNR. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 19,581 shares of the company's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 57,472 shares of the company's stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Equinor ASA by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,173 shares of the company's stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 23,313 shares of the company's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Folketrygdfondet grew its position in Equinor ASA by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company's stock worth $2,640,631,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,472 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.