Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Pareto Securities

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Pareto Securities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of EQNR opened at $26.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.48. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.41 and a fifty-two week high of $28.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.30. The company has a market capitalization of $77.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.38.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 4.74%.The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQNR. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $730,757,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 30.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,759,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,659,611 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 0.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,852,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,923,000 after purchasing an additional 25,250 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,437.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,286,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,741,000 after buying an additional 2,137,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 2.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,827,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,550,000 after buying an additional 39,524 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Equinor ASA

Here are the key news stories impacting Equinor ASA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — Equinor reported adjusted EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $25.3B, topping estimates and showing resilience in volumes. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Signed a five‑year gas supply deal with Eneco in the Netherlands, securing medium‑term offtake and revenue visibility in a core European market. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Completed a $1.1B divestment of Argentina onshore (Vaca Muerta) to Vista Energy — improves near‑term cash flow and simplifies upstream exposure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Capitalised on a US gas price spike by selling ~30% of U.S. onshore gas volumes into the spot market, boosting realized prices in January. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commenced the first tranche (up to $375M) of a $1.5B 2026 buy‑back program — supports shareholder returns despite a smaller overall program. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance and strategy: management targets ~3% production growth for 2026 while cutting CapEx by ~$4B and aiming for a 10% reduction in operating costs — mixed for near‑term growth vs. margin focus. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cowen revisited Equinor’s sector positioning and valuation, which may recalibrate investor expectations but did not issue a clear buy call. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst moves point to limited upside — Bank of America downgraded EQNR from Buy to Neutral, and TD Cowen’s raised price target to $25 still sits below the recent trade price, implying downside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 profit fell (weaker oil & gas prices) and some reports indicate Equinor reined in its share buyback after earnings weakness — a signal of more cautious capital deployment if commodity prices remain soft. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Allocation of bonus shares to insiders under the share‑savings plan may be viewed negatively by some investors as dilution or insider reward. Read More.

About Equinor ASA

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.