Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Receives $22.71 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.7133.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Equinor ASA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th.

Equinor ASA Stock Down 0.9%

EQNR stock opened at $23.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.30. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.41 and a 12 month high of $28.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.36.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $26.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.26 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 14.34%. Equities analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a positive change from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 57.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 55.6% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 30.4% in the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,000. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) is a Norway-based integrated energy company headquartered in Stavanger. Historically established as Statoil in the 1970s to develop Norway’s petroleum resources, the company changed its name to Equinor in 2018 to reflect a strategic shift toward a broader energy portfolio. Equinor’s operations span the full upstream value chain, including exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, alongside trading and marketing activities that support its global commercial operations.

In recent years Equinor has pursued a transition strategy that combines continued development of conventional oil and gas resources with growing investments in low‑carbon energy.