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

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) was the recipient of a large 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. 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 stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA in the third quarter worth about $1,933,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 52.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after acquiring an additional 24,052 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,509,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Equinor ASA by 9.2% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 52.1% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 29,516 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EQNR shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $25.80 to $30.90 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Berenberg Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded 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, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQNR traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.65. 1,135,444 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,217,676. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.98 and its 200 day moving average is $24.91. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.85 and a one year high of $29.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.68%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.89%.

About Equinor ASA

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.