Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,020,000 shares, a growth of 39.8% from the January 31st total of 13,610,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EQNR. Pareto Securities raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Danske raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Nordea Equity Research raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

EQNR stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.46. The company had a trading volume of 3,291,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,509,651. The firm has a market cap of $62.71 billion, a PE ratio of 7.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.85 and a 12 month high of $29.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.40.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. On average, analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is 37.30%.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 254.5% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,009.8% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

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.