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 report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on EQNR. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Berenberg Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Nordea Equity Research raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $23.01 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Equinor ASA has a twelve month low of $21.85 and a twelve month high of $29.32. The company has a market cap of $64.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQNR. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth about $9,043,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at about $6,203,000. Drum Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,023,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at about $3,685,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,751,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,019,000 after acquiring an additional 132,157 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equinor ASA

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.