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

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $22.37, but opened at $23.16. Equinor ASA shares last traded at $23.25, with a volume of 613,437 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EQNR shares. HSBC upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Danske raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Nordea Equity Research raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. On average, research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 3,989 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 32,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 5,038 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $34,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,812 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 123,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 47,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC boosted its holdings in Equinor ASA by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC now owns 490,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,611,000 after purchasing an additional 10,948 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.