Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $37.13 and last traded at $36.9440, with a volume of 5473351 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQNR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America downgraded Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.38.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 4.74%. On average, equities analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This is an increase from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.37%.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Equinor ASA by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 14,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 37,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.8% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

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.