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

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $29.83, but opened at $32.48. Equinor ASA shares last traded at $31.6790, with a volume of 3,615,179 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research raised Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $24.71.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 5.3%

The firm has a market cap of $92.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.85 and its 200-day moving average is $24.63. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 4.74%.The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.31 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 148,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,932,000 after buying an additional 14,913 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter worth $263,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 112,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Equinor ASA during the 1st quarter valued at about $816,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,043.5% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 16,758 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by 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.