Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Shares Up 4.8% – Here’s What Happened

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)’s share price traded up 4.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.31 and last traded at $24.27. 1,304,755 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 4,400,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQNR has been the topic of several analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Berenberg Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 4.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $67.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.93 and a 200 day moving average of $24.30.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.79%. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 37.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EQNR. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 254.5% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Equinor ASA by 1,009.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

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.