Hsbc Global Res Upgrades Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) to Strong-Buy

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

EQNR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Pareto Securities raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Trading Down 5.7 %

NYSE EQNR opened at $23.26 on Monday. Equinor ASA has a 12-month low of $21.85 and a 12-month high of $29.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $64.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. On average, analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.02%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 22.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 67,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,699,000 after buying an additional 12,170 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 7.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 21,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 1,552 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 182.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 30,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 19,894 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.