Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.39 and last traded at $29.2190, with a volume of 648050 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EQNR shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America lowered Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a market cap of $85.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.42.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.31 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 64.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Equinor ASA by 1,794.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Equinor ASA by 55.6% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.