Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EQNR. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.40 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

NYSE EQNR opened at $41.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Equinor ASA has a 1-year low of $21.41 and a 1-year high of $42.06.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 4.74%. On average, research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 14,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 1.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 37,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 5.0% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 1.8% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.