Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Halliburton from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Halliburton from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.19.

Halliburton Stock Performance

HAL stock opened at $35.93 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.48. The company has a market capitalization of $30.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Halliburton has a fifty-two week low of $18.72 and a fifty-two week high of $36.19.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. Halliburton’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $3,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,538,550. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Halliburton by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,929,285 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $145,860,000 after purchasing an additional 96,394 shares during the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 98.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 134,365 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after buying an additional 66,765 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,775,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Halliburton by 12.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,645,526 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $40,480,000 after buying an additional 186,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,010,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.