Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $38.27, but opened at $40.88. Equinor ASA shares last traded at $40.7110, with a volume of 874,764 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on EQNR. Zacks Research cut shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equinor ASA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.20.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $120.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $34.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.03 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 23.60% and a net margin of 7.92%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 130.2% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,794.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, 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 during 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.