Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Equinor ASA has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from analysts, with seven recommending a sell, seven a hold, and three a buy.
• The company reported a quarterly dividend increase to $0.37, representing a 5.9% yield, up from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.
• Equinor ASA's stock has shown a significant 4.1% increase, with a market capitalization of $73.48 billion and a current stock price of $24.95.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the seventeen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.7133.

EQNR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Equinor ASA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Equinor ASA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DZ Bank downgraded Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EQNR. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the first quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company's stock.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $24.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.47. Equinor ASA has a 1 year low of $21.41 and a 1 year high of $28.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.53.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.02). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 7.60%.The firm had revenue of $25.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.88 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. This is a boost from Equinor ASA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Equinor ASA's payout ratio is 40.53%.

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.

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