Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Sets New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $33.80 and last traded at $33.0870, with a volume of 5841343 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.06.

The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.15. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.03%.

Key Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on top and bottom lines — Halliburton reported adjusted EPS of $0.69 vs. ~ $0.54 consensus and revenue of ~$5.66–5.7B, led by international strength, which drove the initial rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cash flow and shareholder returns — company reported healthy operating/free cash flow and emphasized continued share buybacks and a >2% dividend, supporting total-return thesis. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lift targets/ratings — multiple firms (Stifel, Capital One and others) raised price targets and maintained buy/overweight views, giving near-term upside support. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity — heavy call buying (about 60k calls, ~83% above normal) signals bullish speculative/institutional positioning around the print. (Market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Management tone: strong 2025 execution but cautious on 2026 — the earnings call highlighted execution and tech initiatives but flagged moderation next year, so upside may require specific end‑market improvement. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Full call transcript and detail available for investors parsing segment/region drivers. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: North America softness and mixed profitability — North American revenue declined (reported ~7% regional drop) and some outlets noted profit slipped despite revenue gains, creating near-term execution risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and high payout ratio — some insiders have sold shares recently and the company deployed ~85% of free cash flow to returns, which can limit flexibility if markets worsen. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Venezuela opportunity discussed — media and previews noted potential re-entry opportunities that, if realized, could add an incremental international revenue tailwind. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HAL. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Halliburton in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.10.

Insider Activity

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 8,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.89, for a total transaction of $246,938.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 333,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,302,095.92. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Richard sold 160,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value of $4,443,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 452,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,562,425.98. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 268,854 shares of company stock valued at $7,915,138 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Halliburton by 1.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,363,599 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,147,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617,696 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Halliburton by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 91,030,451 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $2,239,349,000 after purchasing an additional 40,969,139 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Halliburton by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,287,989 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $617,269,000 after acquiring an additional 346,218 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 9.4% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 26,004,682 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $639,715,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,342,963 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $453,461,000 after acquiring an additional 92,549 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Trading Up 4.1%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.95.

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.