Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Rating Lowered to "Reduce" at Kepler Capital Markets

Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on EQNR. Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Equinor ASA from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Equinor ASA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Danske upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.71.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQNR traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.82. 2,158,349 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,587,166. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.41 and a 12 month high of $29.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.17). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The firm had revenue of $27.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.304 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Equinor ASA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Equinor ASA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 1.9% in 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. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Equinor ASA by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 147,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,911,000 after purchasing an additional 32,843 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company's stock.

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.