Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Trading Down 5.6% – Here’s Why

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) shares traded down 5.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $39.73 and last traded at $39.8380. 4,708,182 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 7,416,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EQNR shares. Bank of America lowered Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Equinor ASA from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. DZ Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.40 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 3.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $122.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $25.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 4.74%. On average, equities analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This is a boost from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 64.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,794.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 119.2% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners increased its holdings in Equinor ASA by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

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.