Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.3810.

HAL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Halliburton from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price objective on Halliburton in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $132,187.02. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 81,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,805,657.47. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction of $5,985,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,101,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,499,455.28. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 331,994 shares of company stock worth $11,331,187. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HAL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Halliburton by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,341 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after buying an additional 20,583 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Halliburton by 25.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 10,408 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Halliburton by 309.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 52,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Halliburton in the first quarter worth about $895,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:HAL opened at $34.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.14. Halliburton has a one year low of $18.72 and a one year high of $37.03. The firm has a market cap of $28.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share (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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

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.