Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.7619.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. HSBC set a $30.00 target price on Halliburton and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Halliburton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Redburn Partners set a $35.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd.

Halliburton Stock Down 1.5%

HAL stock opened at $33.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $35.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.03. The firm has a market cap of $28.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.77.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. Research analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 45.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $5,985,152.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,101,243 shares in the company, valued at $38,499,455.28. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 497,002 shares of company stock worth $15,889,138. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,072,525 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $30,310,000 after acquiring an additional 4,357 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $831,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Halliburton by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 84,008 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

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.