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

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) shares gapped down before the market opened 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Equinor ASA in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.40 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equinor ASA has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.14. The stock has a market cap of $113.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.27.

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

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is an increase from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQNR. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,314,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 1,437.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,286,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137,642 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,827,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,550,000 after acquiring an additional 39,524 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,366,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 100.8% in the 3rd quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 515,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,569,000 after acquiring an additional 258,767 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.