Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $24.78, but opened at $23.87. Equinor ASA shares last traded at $23.78, with a volume of 796,054 shares traded.

The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 8.95%.

Equinor ASA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic raised Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Berenberg Bank raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Nordea Equity Research raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 81,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.97 and a 200-day moving average of $24.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA, an energy company, engages in the exploration, production, transportation, refining, and marketing of petroleum and other forms of energy in Norway and internationally. It operates through Exploration & Production Norway; Exploration & Production International; Exploration & Production USA; Marketing, Midstream & Processing; Renewables; and Other segments.