Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Equinor ASA to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.80 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.90.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Equinor ASA stock opened at $25.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.58 and its 200 day moving average is $25.39. The company has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.73, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.84. Equinor ASA has a twelve month low of $21.85 and a twelve month high of $32.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $25.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.45 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Equinor ASA by 3.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,751,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,019,000 after acquiring an additional 132,157 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 1.4% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 862,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,635,000 after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 522,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,242,000 after acquiring an additional 16,303 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 479,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 13.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 416,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,898,000 after purchasing an additional 49,029 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equinor ASA

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.