Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Upgraded at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HAL. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Griffin Securities upgraded shares of Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.14.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $33.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $36.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $20.39 and a 12-month high of $43.59.

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

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.60%.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $852,377.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 93,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,382.80. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton News Roundup

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.

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.