Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Capital One Financial lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.19.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $35.93 on Friday. Halliburton has a fifty-two week low of $18.72 and a fifty-two week high of $36.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.48. The firm has a market cap of $30.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In related news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $3,225,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HAL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Halliburton by 7.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Halliburton by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,341 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after buying an additional 20,583 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 10,408 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 309.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 52,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 1st quarter valued at about $895,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

About Halliburton

Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, offering a broad portfolio that supports the lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs from exploration and drilling through production and abandonment. Founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton as an oil-well cementing company, the firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has developed into an integrated oilfield services company serving upstream operators globally.

The company’s activities encompass drilling and evaluation, well construction and completion, production enhancement and well intervention.