Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on HAL. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on Halliburton from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Halliburton from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.53.

Halliburton Price Performance

HAL stock opened at $39.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.09 and its 200 day moving average is $37.47. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $27.84 and a 52 week high of $43.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.06.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Halliburton had a return on equity of 31.59% and a net margin of 11.46%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Halliburton will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In related news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $176,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,762.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $176,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,762.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $13,308,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 759,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,793,229.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 259.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 166,407 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $6,281,000 after buying an additional 120,122 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Halliburton by 70.5% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 128,001 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $4,847,000 after purchasing an additional 52,933 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 1st quarter worth $696,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 81.5% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,347 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 83.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,384 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Halliburton

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.