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

Key Points

• Equinor shares gapped down ahead of the session — falling from $38.27 to an open of $35.17 and last trading near $34.86, a decline of about 8.4% on heavy volume.
• Several brokers have recently upgraded Equinor to Hold/Neutral, but MarketBeat's consensus remains Reduce with an average target price of $34.61, roughly in line with current trading.
• On fundamentals, Equinor beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.39 (annualized yield ~4.4%), while sporting a P/E of 18.44 and a payout ratio around 67%.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $38.27, but opened at $35.17. Equinor ASA shares last traded at $34.8620, with a volume of 1,995,594 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equinor ASA currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Trading Down 8.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $103.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.13. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.76.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $25.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. As a group, research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Equinor ASA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Equinor ASA's dividend payout ratio is 67.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the first quarter worth approximately $248,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $499,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,157 shares of the company's stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 120,638 shares of the company's stock worth $2,851,000 after acquiring an additional 4,220 shares during the period. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equinor ASA

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.

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