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

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on EQNR. Danske upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DZ Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC upgraded Equinor ASA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Equinor ASA from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Equinor ASA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.10.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

EQNR opened at $24.72 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.18. 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 company has a market cap of $69.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. Equinor ASA has a 12-month low of $21.85 and a 12-month high of $29.32.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.19). Equinor ASA had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 8.49%. Research analysts predict that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinor ASA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.66%. Equinor ASA’s payout ratio is 37.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQNR. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 254.5% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Equinor ASA during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,009.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.