Pareto Securities Upgrades Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) to "Buy"

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Pareto Securities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on EQNR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Equinor ASA from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor ASA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equinor ASA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of Equinor ASA stock traded up $0.98 on Thursday, hitting $24.53. The company 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.93 and a 200-day moving average of $24.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQNR. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 19,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 8.1% in 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Equinor ASA by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Equinor ASA by 10.2% during the fourth 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 stake in Equinor ASA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company's stock worth $2,640,631,000 after buying an additional 4,300,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company's stock.

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.