Erste Group Bank Forecasts Stronger Earnings for Equinor ASA

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Equinor to $4.47 (from $3.94), while the market consensus remains $4.65 and Erste expects FY2027 EPS of $3.89.
• Equinor beat recent quarterly expectations, reporting $0.81 EPS vs. $0.60 expected and $25.26B revenue, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.39 (3.9% yield) from $0.37.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $34.61, even as the stock trades near $40 and the company holds a roughly $118B market cap.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Equinor ASA in a research report issued on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the company will earn $4.47 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $3.94. The consensus estimate for Equinor ASA's current full-year earnings is $4.65 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Equinor ASA's FY2027 earnings at $3.89 EPS.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $25.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 4.74%.

Several other research firms have also commented on EQNR. Pareto Securities lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor ASA from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $40.40 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group raised Equinor ASA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equinor ASA has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Shares of EQNR stock opened at $40.06 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.61. The company has a market cap of $117.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Equinor ASA has a 12-month low of $21.96 and a 12-month high of $43.46.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 11.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 148,723 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,932,000 after purchasing an additional 14,913 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA during the first quarter valued at $263,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 112,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,968,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the first quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 50.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,230 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company's stock.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This is an increase from Equinor ASA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.37%.

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.

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