Morgan Stanley Cuts Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Price Target to $28.20

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $30.90 to $28.20 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

EQNR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised shares of Equinor ASA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Pareto Securities raised Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Danske upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Equinor ASA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:EQNR opened at $25.18 on Monday. Equinor ASA has a fifty-two week low of $21.85 and a fifty-two week high of $29.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.17. The company has a market cap of $70.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Equinor ASA by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 19,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 254.5% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.