Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Raised to “Hold” at Freedom Capital

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HAL. Citigroup boosted their price target on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zephirin Group raised their price objective on Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Griffin Securities upgraded Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Halliburton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.14.

Halliburton Stock Down 1.1%

HAL opened at $32.68 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $20.39 and a 1-year high of $43.59. The company has a market capitalization of $27.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.47.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $363,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 72,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,064,992. This represents a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 93,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,927,732.07. This represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Halliburton by 82,596.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 21.1% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 19,190,520 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at about $169,304,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 12,413.2% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,163,259 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $162,325,000 after purchasing an additional 4,129,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the first quarter worth about $158,525,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

More Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton won a new contract with Basra Oil Company to provide integrated field management, digital solutions, and EPCM services in southern Iraq, adding another large-scale international project to its backlog. Halliburton (HAL) Lands Iraq Field Development Contract With Basra Oil Company
• Positive Sentiment: The company also secured a multi-year agreement with Kuwait Oil Company to support the Ahmadi Innovation Valley, reinforcing Halliburton’s international growth story and technology-led strategy. Halliburton’s Outlook Improves as New Awards Build Momentum After Flat Q2, RBC Says
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results topped expectations, with revenue of $5.71 billion and EPS of $0.55, while international revenue hit a 10-year high and margins expanded, which supports confidence in earnings resilience. Halliburton Tops Estimates as International Demand Strengthens
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokerages lowered price targets after the earnings release, but most kept bullish ratings, suggesting analysts still see upside despite a more cautious valuation view. These Analysts Cut Their Forecasts On Halliburton Following Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s post-earnings outlook was described as tepid by some coverage, with warnings about a slower Middle East recovery and uneven execution tempering enthusiasm. Halliburton tumbles on tepid revenue forecast, Middle East recovery warning

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.