Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Raised to Hold at Freedom Capital

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was upgraded by analysts at Freedom Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on HAL. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Argus increased their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.38.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $33.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.45. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $20.39 and a 12-month high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Halliburton will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Halliburton news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $363,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,064,992. This trade represents a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 10.2% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,794 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,456 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,320 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Halliburton by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,363 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Halliburton

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.55 on revenue of $5.71 billion, both ahead of expectations, with revenue up year over year and strong international demand helping results. Halliburton Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company said international revenue hit a 10-year high and management highlighted margin expansion and confidence in continued growth, which supports the longer-term outlook. Halliburton Tops Estimates as International Demand Strengthens
• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton won a multi-year contract from Kuwait Oil Company to help develop the Ahmadi Innovation Valley, adding to its international project momentum. Kuwait Oil Company Awards Long-Term Agreement to Advance Technology Development Ahmadi Innovation Valley
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen lowered its price target slightly to $47 but kept a buy rating, signaling continued analyst confidence and implying meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on TD Cowen target cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed forecasts after the Q2 report, but the cuts appear to reflect a more cautious near-term view rather than a change in the company’s underlying profitability or contract wins. Analysts Cut Their Forecasts On Halliburton Following Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment was hurt by weaker Middle East activity and management’s warning that regional disruption is pressuring results, with some reports noting the market viewed the revenue outlook as tepid. Reuters report on second-quarter profit rise
• Negative Sentiment: Despite beating estimates, shares fell after the earnings release because the improvement was offset by concerns about Middle East operations and a softer short-term outlook for oilfield services demand. Barrons article on stock falling after earnings

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.