Zacks Research Downgrades Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) to Hold

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on EQNR. TD Cowen increased their price target on Equinor ASA from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.40 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group upgraded Equinor ASA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Pareto Securities lowered Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.20.

Equinor ASA Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE EQNR opened at $37.84 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $111.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.07. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $22.26 and a one year high of $43.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $28.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.73 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 14,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 37,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 39,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

Equinor ASA (NYSE: EQNR) is a Norway-based integrated energy company headquartered in Stavanger. Historically established as Statoil in the 1970s to develop Norway’s petroleum resources, the company changed its name to Equinor in 2018 to reflect a strategic shift toward a broader energy portfolio. Equinor’s operations span the full upstream value chain, including exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, alongside trading and marketing activities that support its global commercial operations.

In recent years Equinor has pursued a transition strategy that combines continued development of conventional oil and gas resources with growing investments in low‑carbon energy.