Analysts Set Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Target Price at $22.71

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

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EQNR shares. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Friday, October 31st. DZ Bank lowered Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Equinor ASA in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th.

Equinor ASA Stock Down 0.9%

EQNR stock opened at $23.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Equinor ASA has a twelve month low of $21.41 and a twelve month high of $28.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.31. The stock has a market cap of $69.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQNR. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 5,615 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Equinor ASA by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,314,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,437.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,286,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,741,000 after buying an additional 2,137,642 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.