Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY) Cut to Hold at Kepler Capital Markets

Key Points

• Norsk Hydro ASA has been downgraded by Kepler Capital Markets from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating as of Wednesday.
• Despite the downgrade, the company holds a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, with mixed ratings from other financial institutions, including a recent upgrade by Royal Bank Of Canada.
• Norsk Hydro ASA reported earnings of $0.16 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $5.23 billion.

Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday, July 23rd,Zacks.com reports.

NHYDY has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Norsk Hydro ASA from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Norsk Hydro ASA in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Norsk Hydro ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Norsk Hydro ASA Stock Down 1.6%

NHYDY stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.13. 30,362 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 183,079. Norsk Hydro ASA has a 1 year low of $4.50 and a 1 year high of $6.62. The firm's 50 day moving average is $5.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.74. The stock has a market cap of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.09. Norsk Hydro ASA had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.63 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norsk Hydro ASA will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Norsk Hydro ASA Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.1442 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Norsk Hydro ASA's payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Norsk Hydro ASA Company Profile

Norsk Hydro ASA engages in the power production, bauxite extraction, alumina refining, aluminium smelting, and recycling activities; and provision of extruded solutions worldwide. It operates through Hydro Bauxite & Alumina, Hydro Aluminium Metal, Hydro Metal Markets, Hydro Extrusions, and Hydro Energy segments.