Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $39.00 to $42.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the oilfield services company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.31% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. 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 shares of Halliburton in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Halliburton from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.81.

Halliburton Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE HAL opened at $38.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Halliburton has a 12 month low of $18.72 and a 12 month high of $38.45. The company has a market cap of $31.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.19.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion for 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%.Halliburton’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total transaction of $132,187.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 81,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,805,657.47. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the company’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 $5,985,152.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,101,243 shares in the company, valued at $38,499,455.28. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 357,053 shares of company stock worth $12,178,682. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Halliburton by 81.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 91,030,451 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $2,239,349,000 after acquiring an additional 40,969,139 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 82,596.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $841,339,000 after purchasing an additional 29,735,387 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth $418,738,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at $169,304,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at $147,315,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.