Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

HAL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.95.

Halliburton Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE HAL opened at $33.95 on Friday. 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 $28.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.23 and a 200-day moving average of $26.60. 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 results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at $13,538,550. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. The trade was a 13.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938 in the last 90 days. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,929,285 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $145,860,000 after purchasing an additional 96,394 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Halliburton in the third quarter worth about $1,775,000. Tejara Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Halliburton by 98.8% in the third quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 134,365 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 66,765 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,645,526 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $40,480,000 after acquiring an additional 186,105 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,474,135 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $36,264,000 after purchasing an additional 59,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

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.