Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Equinor ASA has been downgraded to an "underweight" rating by Morgan Stanley, reflecting increasing concerns about its stock performance.
• The company missed earnings per share expectations in its recent quarter, reporting $0.64 compared to the consensus estimate of $0.66.
• Equinor ASA's current consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $22.71, after several brokerages revised their ratings downward.

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays lowered Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Hsbc Global Res lowered Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Pareto Securities lowered Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Berenberg Bank lowered Equinor ASA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $26.44 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $22.71.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

Shares of Equinor ASA stock traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, reaching $23.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,008,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,271,361. The company has a market capitalization of $70.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.57. Equinor ASA has a 52-week low of $21.41 and a 52-week high of $28.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $25.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.88 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 16.91%. Analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQNR. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.9% in the second quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Lazari Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 5.2% in the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 2.2% in the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 21,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 4.5% in the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 12,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Equinor ASA by 10.9% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.