Argus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Price

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Argus from $45.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the oilfield services company’s stock. Argus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.07% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HAL. BMO Capital Markets set a $37.00 price target on Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Capital One Financial lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.14.

Halliburton Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE HAL opened at $33.31 on Thursday. Halliburton has a twelve month low of $20.39 and a twelve month high of $43.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market cap of $27.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.45.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,250 shares in the company, valued at $636,230. This trade represents a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $852,377.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 93,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,927,732.07. The trade was a 17.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,794 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Halliburton by 24.8% in 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 last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Halliburton by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Halliburton by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,320 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Halliburton by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,363 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Halliburton

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton reported Q2 revenue of $5.71 billion and EPS of $0.55, both modestly ahead of expectations, reinforcing that core business performance remains solid. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company won a new integrated field development contract with Basra Oil Company in Iraq, adding another large international project and expanding its presence in a key oil-producing region. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton also secured additional development work in Kuwait, reinforcing the view that recent contract wins are improving its growth outlook and supporting its international business mix. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces pointed to a stronger long-term outlook thanks to Halliburton’s technology edge and global contract pipeline, but also noted that geopolitical risk and uneven execution could limit near-term upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen reportedly lowered expectations for Halliburton, and other firms trimmed price targets, suggesting analysts remain cautious even as the stock benefits from new business wins.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts and mixed sentiment may cap enthusiasm if investors worry that recent contract wins are not enough to quickly reaccelerate margins or earnings growth.

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.