Wall Street Zen Upgrades Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) to “Strong-Buy”

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price objective on Halliburton in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Capital One Financial upped their price objective on Halliburton from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.38.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of HAL stock opened at $34.60 on Friday. Halliburton has a 1 year low of $18.72 and a 1 year high of $37.03. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.43 and its 200-day moving average is $28.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.73.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 331,994 shares of company stock worth $11,331,187 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

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