Equinor: Earnings May Disappoint (Rating Downgrade)

Jack Bowman9.39K FollowersFollow5ShareSavePlay(7min)Comment(1)SummaryEquinor ASA has benefited from resumed U.S. wind project construction and surging oil prices, driving strong recent returns.EQNR is aggressively expanding internationally, notably with a $9B Brazil investment and wind acquisitions, but domestic growth remains slow.Despite a nearly 45% share price run-up, EQNR's earnings must significantly rise to justify current valuations; upcoming guidance is crucial.I am downgrading EQNR stock to Hold, trimming exposure ahead of the April 29th call, citing oil price volatility and risk of dividend disappointment. ROMAOSLO/iStock via Getty Images I haven't covered state-owned Norwegian oil giant Equinor ASA (EQNR) since this time last year. I said then that it was undervalued and oversold after its bitter dispute with Washington over in-progress windThis article was written byJack Bowman9.39K FollowersFollowWriter | Investment Advisor | Economics Wonk | Top 5% on TipRanks | Long Signal, Short Noise | Author of The Macro Obsession, a weekly newsletter on current events and trends in finance, tech, and the real economy. My work focuses on my quest to uncover narrative trends before mainstream financial media, a process I've been describing as the hunt for information alpha. It is chart-heavy, macro-oriented, and data-driven.I invest across securities and asset classes. My focus has largely been on ETF investing, and I am known as a macro analyst, though I do cover stocks that I am personally trading or considering for my portfolio. These are typically technology and next-gen energy stocks or large caps with a juicy story.“Successful investing requires holding uncomfortably idiosyncratic positions.” — Howard Marks, paraphrasing David Swensen “History does not repeat, it instructs.” — Timothy Snyder, On TyrannyAnalyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of EQNR either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.