Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Given “Sector Perform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Nordea Equity Research raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Danske raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upgraded Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of EQNR opened at $23.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.06, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.85 and a 12 month high of $29.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 12.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.2% in the third quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 81,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,057,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 9.2% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.