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

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $41.61, but opened at $42.97. Equinor ASA shares last traded at $42.8240, with a volume of 569,744 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQNR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. SEB Equity Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Equinor ASA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.47.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $102.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.08.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.06). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 23.60% and a net margin of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $34.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.03 billion. Analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 5.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Equinor ASA in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 130.2% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Equinor ASA by 1,581.9% in the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Equinor ASA by 429.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,653 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

Equinor ASA is a Norwegian energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing, transportation, marketing and trading of oil and natural gas. The company also operates in renewable energy and other lower-carbon activities, including offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen initiatives.

Equinor’s operations are centered on the Norwegian continental shelf, where it is one of the leading producers of oil and natural gas. The company also has international exploration, production and energy projects across regions including Europe, North America, South America and Africa.