Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Equal Weight”

Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $22.70 price objective on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Nordea Equity Research upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Equinor ASA from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. HSBC raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Equinor ASA in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Pareto Securities raised shares of Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.85.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

NYSE EQNR opened at $23.36 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $65.24 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.58. Equinor ASA has a twelve month low of $21.41 and a twelve month high of $29.32.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $27.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.16 billion. Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. Equities analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.304 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. Equinor ASA’s dividend payout ratio is 38.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Folketrygdfondet increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 111,466,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,640,631,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,472 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 3,159.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,649,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,568,095 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Equinor ASA by 958.7% in the fourth 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 period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 8,986.2% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,260,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 771.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,015,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,061,000 after buying an additional 899,157 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.