Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Pareto Securities

Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on EQNR. Zacks Research downgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Equinor ASA stock opened at $26.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $77.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.30. Equinor ASA has a 1-year low of $21.41 and a 1-year high of $28.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 4.74%.The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.31 billion. Analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Equinor ASA by 119.2% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the third quarter worth $57,000. MAI Capital Management lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Equinor ASA News

Here are the key news stories impacting Equinor ASA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — Equinor reported adjusted EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $25.3B, topping estimates and showing resilience in volumes. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Signed a five‑year gas supply deal with Eneco in the Netherlands, securing medium‑term offtake and revenue visibility in a core European market. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Completed a $1.1B divestment of Argentina onshore (Vaca Muerta) to Vista Energy — improves near‑term cash flow and simplifies upstream exposure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Capitalised on a US gas price spike by selling ~30% of U.S. onshore gas volumes into the spot market, boosting realized prices in January. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commenced the first tranche (up to $375M) of a $1.5B 2026 buy‑back program — supports shareholder returns despite a smaller overall program. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance and strategy: management targets ~3% production growth for 2026 while cutting CapEx by ~$4B and aiming for a 10% reduction in operating costs — mixed for near‑term growth vs. margin focus. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cowen revisited Equinor’s sector positioning and valuation, which may recalibrate investor expectations but did not issue a clear buy call. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst moves point to limited upside — Bank of America downgraded EQNR from Buy to Neutral, and TD Cowen’s raised price target to $25 still sits below the recent trade price, implying downside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 profit fell (weaker oil & gas prices) and some reports indicate Equinor reined in its share buyback after earnings weakness — a signal of more cautious capital deployment if commodity prices remain soft. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Allocation of bonus shares to insiders under the share‑savings plan may be viewed negatively by some investors as dilution or insider reward. Read More.

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.