Financial Contrast: Equinor ASA (EQNR) and Its Rivals

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) is one of 1,051 public companies in the “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Equinor ASA to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Equinor ASA pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Equinor ASA pays out 26.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies pay a dividend yield of 9.2% and pay out -133.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Equinor ASA lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

5.5% of Equinor ASA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.8% of shares of all “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Equinor ASA shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.3% of shares of all “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Equinor ASA and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equinor ASA	9.71%	27.45%	8.43%
Equinor ASA Competitors	-456.96%	19.46%	6.50%

Risk and Volatility

Equinor ASA has a beta of 0.12, meaning that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equinor ASA’s rivals have a beta of -3.76, meaning that their average share price is 476% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Equinor ASA and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equinor ASA	3	11	3	1	2.11
Equinor ASA Competitors	5982	26994	40850	2423	2.52

Equinor ASA presently has a consensus price target of $43.47, indicating a potential upside of 3.53%. As a group, “Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels” companies have a potential upside of 29.01%. Given Equinor ASA’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Equinor ASA has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Equinor ASA and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equinor ASA	$106.46 billion	$5.04 billion	8.73
Equinor ASA Competitors	$14.81 billion	$5.51 billion	-0.95

Equinor ASA has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its rivals. Equinor ASA is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Equinor ASA rivals beat Equinor ASA on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The company also transports, processes, manufactures, markets, and trades in oil and gas commodities, such as crude and condensate products, gas liquids, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas; trades in power and emissions; operates refineries, terminals and processing, and power plants; and develops low carbon solutions for oil and gas. In addition, it develops carbon capture and storage projects; provides transportation solutions, including pipelines, shipping, trucking, and rail; and develops and explores for renewable energy, such as offshore wind, green hydrogen, and solar power. The company was formerly known as Statoil ASA and changed its name to Equinor ASA in May 2018. Equinor ASA was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway.