Analysts Set Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) PT at $29.45

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.45.

EQNR has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. HSBC raised Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised Equinor ASA from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Equinor ASA from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised Equinor ASA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

EQNR stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.06. 4,548,370 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,510,721. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $23.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $64.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.83. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.85 and a fifty-two week high of $29.32.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQNR. Folketrygdfondet lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,640,631,000 after buying an additional 4,300,472 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Equinor ASA by 3,159.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,649,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568,095 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Equinor ASA by 958.7% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,447,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,812 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Equinor ASA by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,015,657 shares of the company's stock worth $24,061,000 after purchasing an additional 899,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 975.0% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 842,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,961,000 after purchasing an additional 764,204 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.51% of the company's stock.

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.