10 Best Affordable Blue Chip Stocks to Buy Now

8. Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Share Price as of April 17: $35.47

Forward P/E Ratio: 13.37

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) is an international energy company headquartered in Norway, with over 25,000 employees in around 20 countries worldwide.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) revealed on April 16 that it expects the Q1 earnings from its marketing, midstream, and processing business to exceed its $400 million guidance, driven mainly by the significant volatility as a result of the US-Iran war. Moreover, the company’s gas trading business had also benefited from the price spikes during the cold spell earlier this year in the US, as well as from the “geographic spreads” ⁠in the gas market in Europe.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) became the latest European energy giant to signal stronger earnings in the upcoming Q1 report, following similar announcements by BP, Shell, and Total. Despite the ongoing ceasefire, Brent crude futures have soared by over 30% since the United States and Israel began their first strikes on Iran.

That said, Danske Bank recently turned bearish on Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR), downgrading the stock from ‘Buy’ to ‘Hold’ (read more details here).