Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Sees Large Volume Increase

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,124,950 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the previous session's volume of 3,573,880 shares.The stock last traded at $26.98 and had previously closed at $27.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EQNR. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Equinor ASA from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor ASA from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $26.40 to $28.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. DZ Bank lowered Equinor ASA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.25.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $85.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.68.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $29.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.35 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 20.32%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Equinor ASA by 42.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,186,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,086,000 after buying an additional 3,052,907 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the first quarter valued at $55,819,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Equinor ASA by 47.6% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,752,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,429,000 after buying an additional 1,210,930 shares during the period. Folketrygdfondet raised its position in Equinor ASA by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 107,959,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,415,854,000 after buying an additional 917,330 shares during the period. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the third quarter valued at $21,931,000. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.