Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Short Interest Up 7.5% in January

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,270,000 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the December 31st total of 14,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,043,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the 3rd quarter worth $6,203,000. Drum Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter valued at $4,023,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the third quarter valued at about $3,685,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 3.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,751,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,019,000 after purchasing an additional 132,157 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

EQNR opened at $24.42 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.91. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.85 and a fifty-two week high of $29.45. The firm has a market cap of $68.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.73%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EQNR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equinor ASA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.45.

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.