Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Of 25 analysts covering Halliburton, 18 recommend buying, six rate it a hold, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $43.10, above the reported share price of $34.63.
• Halliburton exceeded quarterly expectations: The oilfield-services company reported $0.55 in earnings per share and $5.71 billion in revenue, topping consensus estimates of $0.54 and $5.50 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 3.7% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains high, while executives sold shares: Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the stock, with several funds increasing their positions. Halliburton’s COO and CFO sold shares through pre-arranged trading plans, and insiders collectively own 0.57% of the company.

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.0952.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Capital One Financial increased their price objective on Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Halliburton from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Halliburton Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $34.63 on Tuesday. Halliburton has a 52-week low of $21.40 and a 52-week high of $43.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.88 and a 200 day moving average of $36.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $28.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.73.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 118,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,166,235.70. The trade was a 30.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 7.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,341 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 20,583 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 10,408 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 309.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 52,092 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $895,000. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source