Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zephirin Group increased their price objective on Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Capital One Financial upped their target price on Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Halliburton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.14.

Halliburton Price Performance

Halliburton stock opened at $33.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. Halliburton has a one year low of $20.39 and a one year high of $43.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total transaction of $8,189,830.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,036,019.94. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 110,220,971 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $3,114,848,000 after purchasing an additional 19,190,520 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 50,825,761 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,436,336,000 after buying an additional 861,964 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,097,164 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $878,806,000 after buying an additional 443,064 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Halliburton by 82,596.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $841,339,000 after buying an additional 29,735,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Halliburton by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,806,168 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $446,682,000 after buying an additional 1,943,845 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about 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.