Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Stock Price Up 6.5% – Still a Buy?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)’s share price was up 6.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $36.17 and last traded at $36.1190. 3,407,923 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 5,889,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on EQNR. Morgan Stanley raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.40 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Equinor ASA from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Pareto Securities lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.70.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $106.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.03.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $28.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.73 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 20.01%. Equities analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is presently 58.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EQNR. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,314,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 1,437.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,286,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137,642 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at approximately $21,366,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 31.6% during the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 270,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,598,000 after purchasing an additional 65,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 877,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,386,000 after purchasing an additional 38,474 shares during the period. 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.