Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $25.67, but opened at $24.91. Equinor ASA shares last traded at $24.6110, with a volume of 1,607,172 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EQNR. Zacks Research downgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equinor ASA presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $22.71.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $72.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.20). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The firm had revenue of $26.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.26 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 57.82%.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EQNR. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 5.2% during the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 37,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.