Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Trading Up 4.8% – Time to Buy?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) shares traded up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $24.31 and last traded at $24.27. 1,304,755 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 4,400,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EQNR. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $66.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.26.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 254.5% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 1,009.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA, an energy company, engages in the exploration, production, transportation, refining, and marketing of petroleum and other forms of energy in Norway and internationally. It operates through Exploration & Production Norway; Exploration & Production International; Exploration & Production USA; Marketing, Midstream & Processing; Renewables; and Other segments.