Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $35.97 and last traded at $35.8550, with a volume of 10962681 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HAL shares. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.19.

Halliburton Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.13 and a 200-day moving average of $27.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.03%.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was 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 owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at $13,538,550. This represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,938. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its position in Halliburton by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 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.