Short Interest in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Grows By 7.5%

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) saw a significant increase in short interest in 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. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EQNR shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upgraded Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,043,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at about $6,203,000. Drum Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth about $4,023,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the third quarter worth about $3,685,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 valued at $95,019,000 after buying an additional 132,157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $24.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.21 billion, a PE ratio of 7.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Equinor ASA has a twelve month low of $21.85 and a twelve month high of $29.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.91.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 35.89%.

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.