Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Rating Increased to Buy at DZ Bank

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at DZ Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

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

Equinor ASA Trading Up 4.2 %

EQNR stock traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,353,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,239,538. Equinor ASA has a 1 year low of $21.85 and a 1 year high of $29.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQNR. Folketrygdfondet grew its position in Equinor ASA by 4.0% during 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,751,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,019,000 after acquiring an additional 132,157 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 557,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,207,000 after purchasing an additional 34,720 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,043,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at approximately $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.