Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,270,000 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the December 31st total of 14,200,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQNR traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.63. 1,517,019 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,239,533. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.89. The stock has a market cap of $68.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.85 and a one year high of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 35.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQNR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic raised Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter valued at $9,043,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,203,000. Drum Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,023,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the third quarter worth $3,685,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Equinor ASA by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,751,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,019,000 after buying an additional 132,157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

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.