BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Price

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its target price increased by BMO Capital Markets from $39.00 to $42.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the oilfield services company’s stock.

HAL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Halliburton from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued 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 $35.81.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $38.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.26. Halliburton has a 52-week low of $18.72 and a 52-week high of $38.83.

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

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Halliburton news, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 5,441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $184,014.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 187,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,338,645.86. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $132,187.02. Following the sale, the vice president owned 81,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,805,657.47. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 357,053 shares of company stock valued at $12,178,682. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its holdings in Halliburton by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

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.