Equinor ASA Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:EQNR)

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 5,193 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 24% compared to the typical volume of 4,196 put options.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

NYSE:EQNR traded down $3.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $38.53. The stock had a trading volume of 10,187,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,054,983. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.27. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.41 and a one year high of $42.06.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. As a group, analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 64.21%.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the third quarter valued at about $730,757,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,759,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,659,611 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,250,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,600,000 after acquiring an additional 493,801 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,288,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,338,000 after acquiring an additional 401,424 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Equinor ASA by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,852,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,923,000 after acquiring an additional 25,250 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Equinor ASA from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $28.71.

About Equinor ASA

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.