Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.07, but opened at $37.35. Equinor ASA shares last traded at $38.3970, with a volume of 4,502,057 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EQNR. Bank of America downgraded Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. DZ Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Pareto Securities lowered Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 0.6%

The stock has a market cap of $114.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.30.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 15.23% and a net margin of 4.74%.The business had revenue of $25.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a positive change from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 119.2% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners raised its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.