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

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Bank of America upgraded Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Zacks Research raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Equinor ASA from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equinor ASA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.47.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 4.0%

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

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.33 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 analyst estimates of $34.03 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 7.92% and a return on equity of 23.60%. Analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cooper Financial Group bought a new stake in Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at about $290,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Equinor ASA during the third quarter worth about $251,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equinor ASA by 8.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 199,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,253,000 after purchasing an additional 15,122 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 2.6% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 36,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,195,000. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.