Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.53 and last traded at $29.3450, with a volume of 1462777 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Pareto Securities upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research raised Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.56. The company has a market capitalization of $86.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.38. 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 (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. Equities research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given 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 5.3%. This is an increase from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.21%.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,794.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Equinor ASA by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Equinor ASA in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 119.2% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners boosted its stake in Equinor ASA by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

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.