Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays upgraded Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup upgraded Equinor ASA to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Berenberg Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.80 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.90.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

NYSE:EQNR opened at $23.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $65.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.84. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $22.15 and a fifty-two week high of $32.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.93.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.45 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 19.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA during the third quarter worth approximately $6,203,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,334.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 176,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,055,000 after acquiring an additional 164,658 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 290.0% in the second quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 199,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,707,000 after purchasing an additional 148,580 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at $3,685,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 401.2% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 172,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,933,000 after purchasing an additional 138,273 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.