Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $45.06 and last traded at $44.8230, with a volume of 422614 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Equinor ASA from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Equinor ASA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.20.

Equinor ASA Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $107.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.70.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.06). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 23.60% and a net margin of 7.92%.The firm had revenue of $34.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 5.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 130.2% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 1,794.0% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Equinor ASA by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA is a Norwegian energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, development, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company also supplies crude oil, natural gas, refined petroleum products and electricity, and participates in energy trading and related activities.

Equinor has expanded beyond its traditional petroleum business into lower-carbon energy, including offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen-related projects. Its operations and partnerships span several regions, with significant activities on the Norwegian continental shelf as well as projects in Europe, North America, South America and other international markets.

The company was established in 1972 as Den norske stats oljeselskap, commonly known as Statoil, and adopted the name Equinor in 2018 to reflect its broader energy strategy.