Zacks Research Upgrades Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) to Hold

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on EQNR. Weiss Ratings raised Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of EQNR stock opened at $27.88 on Monday. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.41 and a fifty-two week high of $28.26. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $82.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.32.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.31 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 148,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,932,000 after buying an additional 14,913 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $263,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 112,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the first quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.2% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.