Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

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

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore upgraded shares of Halliburton from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.81.

Halliburton Stock Up 4.1%

NYSE:HAL opened at $40.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $40.43.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $132,187.02. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 81,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,805,657.47. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 5,441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $184,014.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 187,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,338,645.86. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 357,053 shares of company stock valued at $12,178,682. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,456 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Halliburton by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Halliburton by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,320 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Halliburton by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,363 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 7.4% during the third quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 5,370 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Company Profile

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.