Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Sees Large Volume Increase - What's Next?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 6,872,117 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 81% from the previous session's volume of 3,794,214 shares.The stock last traded at $23.04 and had previously closed at $23.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQNR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Equinor ASA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. DZ Bank raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. HSBC raised Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Danske upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 4.2 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.93 and a 200 day moving average of $24.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $68.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.89, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Folketrygdfondet boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company's stock worth $2,640,631,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300,472 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,751,243 shares of the company's stock worth $95,019,000 after purchasing an additional 132,157 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 557,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,207,000 after buying an additional 34,720 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter worth $9,043,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the third quarter worth about $6,203,000. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.