Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)’s share price 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 changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Equinor ASA from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Equinor ASA from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.47.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $103.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.06). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 23.60%. The company had revenue of $34.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.03 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Monday, November 16th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQNR. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equinor ASA in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 130.2% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter worth $79,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 1,581.9% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

About Equinor ASA

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.