Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Shares Down 5.2% – Here’s What Happened

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) shares fell 5.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $23.50 and last traded at $23.38. 2,797,633 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 4,317,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQNR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $25.80 to $30.90 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Nordea Equity Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $64.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.46, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 20.33%. Research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Equinor ASA during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.51% of the company’s stock.

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.