Argus Issues Positive Forecast for Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Price

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its target price lifted by Argus from $31.00 to $39.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Argus currently has a buy rating on the oilfield services company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on HAL. Zacks Research raised Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Capital One Financial increased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.57.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAL traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.97. The stock had a trading volume of 16,065,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,526,718. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.04. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $35.55.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.15. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The business had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Halliburton news, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $3,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,538,550. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 8,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.89, for a total value of $246,938.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 333,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,302,095.92. This trade represents a 2.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 268,854 shares of company stock worth $7,915,138. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other 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: Q4 beat and operational momentum — HAL topped EPS and revenue expectations, with improved margins and management emphasizing capital returns (buybacks/dividends) that support per-share value. MarketBeat: Halliburton Beat Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target raises — multiple firms (TD Cowen, Susquehanna, RBC, BMO, JPMorgan, Evercore, Stifel, Capital One) raised targets or ratings after results, signaling consensus sentiment lift and providing upward price catalysts. Benzinga: Analysts Increase Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: New strategic initiatives — a $35M Halliburton–A*STAR lab in Singapore targets faster tech-enabled growth in Asia, supporting international revenue diversification and longer-term service/product improvements. SBR: Halliburton, A*STAR $35m lab
• Positive Sentiment: Venezuela opportunity — company comments and hiring activity point to a potential quick re-entry if cleared politically, which could materially expand international revenue. WSJ: Halliburton Prepares to Re-Enter Venezuela
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity and new highs — large call buying and a 12-month high reflect elevated speculative and institutional interest, but they can amplify short-term volatility. AmericanBankingNews: Investors Buy Calls
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector noise — broader energy-market swings and geopolitics (plus periodic headlines) create background volatility that can mask company fundamentals in the near term. SeeItMarket: Energy Stocks Steady Amid Macro Chaos
• Negative Sentiment: Profit nuance — while EPS beat, net income edged down year-over-year (reported net income decline), highlighting some margin or one-time items that temper the beat. Yahoo: Q4 net income falls 4.2%
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — Zephirin Group cut HAL from Buy to Hold and trimmed its target to $28, flagging downside risk and reminding investors not all analysts are convinced upside is sustained. MarketScreener: Zephirin Downgrades HAL

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.