Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

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

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.95.

Halliburton Stock Down 1.0%

HAL opened at $33.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.55. 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 52 week low of $18.72 and a 52 week high of $35.55.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its 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. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction of $5,985,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,101,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,499,455.28. This represents a 13.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total transaction of $88,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,043 shares in the company, valued at $479,849.31. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 337,002 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,938 in the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Halliburton by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 110,220,971 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $3,114,848,000 after acquiring an additional 19,190,520 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 50,825,761 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,436,336,000 after purchasing an additional 861,964 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,097,164 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $878,806,000 after purchasing an additional 443,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 82,596.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $841,339,000 after purchasing an additional 29,735,387 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.