Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Equinor's $5B Buyback to be Aided by Johan Sverdrup Output

Read MoreHide Full Article

Equinor ASA (EQNR - Free Report) recently announced a share repurchase program valued at $5 billion. The buyback plan will run through 2022. Almost 292 million shares outstanding (8.7% of total share capital) can be redeemed using this share repurchase program.

The company will likely use a portion of the total amount, expected to be about $1.5 billion, for immediate share repurchases. By Feb 25, 2020, this first phase is anticipated to be completed. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of Norway will participate in the repurchase program with the intention of keeping its ownership interest in the company intact at 67%.

The company’s strong cash generation capabilities are primarily supporting the program. The Johan Sverdrup oil field’s earlier-than-expected production commencement and several other such start-ups are expected to further enhance its production volumes and cash generating abilities, which will in turn support the buyback plan.

The share repurchase program is in line with the company’s goal of increasing capital distribution, without compromising on investments in high-quality projects. Per this plan, Equinor boosted quarterly dividend payments in 2019 by 13%, banking on operational improvements. Moreover, the company expects capital expenditure for 2019 in the range of $10-$11 billion. Till 2021, the capital expenditure is expected to average $11 billion per annum.

Notably, strong financials — with net debt of only 20%, and cash and cash equivalents of $15 billion — position the company to be on track to increase capital distribution.

Price Performance

Equinor has declined 18.7% year to date against 0.9% growth of the industry it belongs to.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Currently, Equinor carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the energy space are National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV - Free Report) , Dril-Quip, Inc. (DRQ - Free Report) and NuStar Energy L.P. (NS - Free Report) , each holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

National Oilwell’s 2019 earnings per share are expected to rise 75% year over year.

Dril-Quip’s 2019 earnings per share are expected to rise 131.8% year over year.

NuStar Energy’s third-quarter 2019 earnings per share are expected to gain more than 107% year over year.

It’s Illegal in 42 States, But Investors Will Make Billions Legally

In addition to the companies you read about above, today you get details on the newly-legalized industry that’s tapping into a “habit” that Americans spend an estimated $150 billion on every year.

That’s twice as much as they spend on marijuana, legally or otherwise.

Zacks special report revealing how investors can profit from this new opportunity. As more states legalize this activity, the industry could expand by as much as 15X. Zacks’ has just released a Special Report revealing 5 top stocks to watch in this space.

See these 5 “sin stocks” now>>

Published in