Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Upgraded at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) from an underperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Pareto Securities lowered Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Equinor ASA from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.20.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Equinor ASA stock opened at $40.38 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $118.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.06. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $22.26 and a fifty-two week high of $43.46.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $34.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.03 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 23.60% and a net margin of 7.92%. As a group, analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 14,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.1% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 39,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 9,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Equinor ASA News

Here are the key news stories impacting Equinor ASA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street Zen raised Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) to Buy, which could support sentiment if investors see more upside from current levels. Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) to Sector Perform, a modestly better stance than a lower-rated view and a sign that some analysts see the shares as reasonably valued. Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Raised to Sector Perform at Royal Bank Of Canada
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) from $37 to $38, suggesting some analysts still expect the stock to hold near its current range even after recent volatility. EQNR Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y on Higher Output

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.