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

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $26.49, but opened at $25.29. Equinor ASA shares last traded at $25.42, with a volume of 2,337,717 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQNR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Equinor ASA from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $22.70 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays downgraded Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Redburn Atlantic cut Equinor ASA from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Equinor ASA from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.71.

Equinor ASA Stock Down 4.4%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.57.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $27.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.16 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 8.07%. On average, research analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.304 per share. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Equinor ASA's payout ratio is 38.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Folketrygdfondet grew its position in Equinor ASA by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company's stock worth $2,640,631,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,472 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 3,159.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,649,389 shares of the company's stock worth $62,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568,095 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 958.7% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,447,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,812 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 8,986.2% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,260,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in Equinor ASA by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,015,657 shares of the company's stock worth $24,061,000 after purchasing an additional 899,157 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.51% of the company's stock.

Equinor ASA Company Profile

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.

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