Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Halliburton from “buy” to “hold,” though analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.10.
• Halliburton exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.55 in earnings per share versus the $0.54 consensus estimate and $5.71 billion in revenue, up 3.7% year over year.
• The stock opened at $34.44, while institutional investors own 85.23% of outstanding shares; Halliburton’s CFO also sold 24,778 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Halliburton from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.10.

Halliburton Stock Performance

HAL opened at $34.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $28.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.73. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $20.78 and a 1-year high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Halliburton by 7.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 6,507 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Halliburton by 39.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,341 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 20,583 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 25.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 309.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $895,000. 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.

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