Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Stock Price Down 5.6% – Here’s Why

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)’s share price fell 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $39.73 and last traded at $39.8380. 4,708,182 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 7,416,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on EQNR. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group raised Equinor ASA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.40 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equinor ASA has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $117.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $25.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This is a boost from Equinor ASA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in shares of Equinor ASA in the third quarter worth approximately $730,757,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,759,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,659,611 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,437.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,286,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,741,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137,642 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 113.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,787,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,945,000 after purchasing an additional 948,609 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter valued at $21,366,000. 5.51% of the stock is currently 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.