Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on HAL. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on Halliburton from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.10.

Halliburton Stock Down 2.3%

HAL stock opened at $33.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.73. Halliburton has a fifty-two week low of $21.40 and a fifty-two week high of $43.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 35.60%.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 52,572 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $1,844,751.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 118,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,166,235.70. This trade represents a 30.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 128.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,284,612 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $89,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,095 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth $827,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 172.6% in the fourth quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 110,000 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $3,109,000 after acquiring an additional 69,644 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Halliburton by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 373,949 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $10,568,000 after purchasing an additional 67,369 shares during the period. Finally, Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter worth about $3,731,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.