Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Given New $46.00 Price Target at Evercore

Key Points

• Evercore raised its price target on Halliburton to $46 from $42 and kept an “outperform” rating, implying about 16.75% upside from the prior close.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish overall: 18 analysts rate HAL a Buy, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.05.
• Halliburton recently beat earnings expectations, posting $0.55 EPS on revenue of $5.40 billion, while the stock was trading slightly lower around $39.40 during the session.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Evercore from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the oilfield services company's stock. Evercore's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.75% from the stock's previous close.

HAL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Griffin Securities upgraded Halliburton from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus increased their price target on Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised Halliburton from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.05.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:HAL traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.40. 811,562 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,531,004. Halliburton has a fifty-two week low of $19.44 and a fifty-two week high of $43.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.99.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Halliburton will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $363,510.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,064,992. The trade was a 10.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. The trade was a 17.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 420,837 shares of company stock worth $16,979,135. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Negative Sentiment: WTI crude fell sharply, pressuring Halliburton and other oil services names as lower oil prices can signal reduced drilling and completion activity by producers. Why Halliburton (HAL) Stock Is Falling Today
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-wide weakness also hit peers such as SLB, Baker Hughes, TechnipFMC, and offshore drillers, reinforcing that the move looks macro-driven rather than company-specific. Helix Energy Solutions and TechnipFMC Shares Plummet, What You Need To Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Noble appointed Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller as a director, a governance-related development that is noteworthy but unlikely to be the main driver of HAL’s stock move today. Noble Appoints Halliburton CEO as Director

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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