Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Price

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the oilfield services company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price would indicate a potential upside of 43.74% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on HAL. UBS Group reduced their target price on Halliburton from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Halliburton from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Halliburton from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Halliburton currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.47.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAL traded up $0.33 on Wednesday, hitting $21.57. 9,923,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,597,498. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $21.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.51. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $37.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.13.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oilfield services company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60. Halliburton had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.28 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Halliburton by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,687 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,476 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 191,372 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $3,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,931 shares during the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Halliburton by 11.5% during the second quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,020 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 82.1% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 48,900 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 22,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scott & Selber Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 115,665 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $2,357,000 after buying an additional 2,002 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Halliburton

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.