Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.45 and last traded at $38.0760, with a volume of 11041273 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on HAL shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore upgraded shares of Halliburton from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Halliburton Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.19. The stock has a market cap of $31.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.73.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $3,225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This represents a 19.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction 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 $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 357,053 shares of company stock worth $12,178,682 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Halliburton by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,456 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,320 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Halliburton by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,363 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in Halliburton by 7.4% during the third quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 5,370 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 370 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.