Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $33.03 and last traded at $32.87, with a volume of 2255150 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Equinor ASA in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 4.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $97.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.83.

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

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. This is an increase from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is presently 64.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQNR. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Equinor ASA by 1,794.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 119.2% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

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.