Morgan Stanley Upgrades Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) to "Overweight"

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $30.90 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $25.80.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on EQNR. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup raised shares of Equinor ASA to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays raised shares of Equinor ASA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Equinor ASA from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.45.

Equinor ASA Stock Performance

NYSE EQNR traded up $0.91 on Tuesday, reaching $25.88. 4,616,959 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,315,415. Equinor ASA has a one year low of $21.85 and a one year high of $31.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $23.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 19.97%. The company had revenue of $25.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EQNR. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA during the third quarter worth $6,203,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at about $3,685,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 3.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,751,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,019,000 after acquiring an additional 132,157 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at about $2,509,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinor ASA in the third quarter valued at about $2,305,000. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.