Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Upgraded to Buy at DZ Bank

DZ Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on EQNR. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Equinor ASA stock opened at $23.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $64.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.85 and a 12 month high of $29.32.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 19.97%. Research analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 35.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth $485,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth about $909,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 62,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 24,090 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth about $540,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth about $165,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

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.