Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.25.

EQNR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor ASA from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $26.40 to $28.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Equinor ASA in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Equinor ASA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 136.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 558.9% in the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company's stock.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQNR traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.51. 2,034,095 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,631,133. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $27.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.95. The firm has a market cap of $89.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.85. Equinor ASA has a twelve month low of $24.44 and a twelve month high of $34.73.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

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.