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

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Susquehanna from $32.00 to $30.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a positive rating on the oilfield services company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HAL. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Halliburton from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Halliburton from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Halliburton from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.68.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAL traded down $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.86. 11,003,499 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,953,775. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $18.72 and a 52 week high of $38.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 7.37, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $23.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.78.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oilfield services company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60. Halliburton had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 10,497 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total transaction of $258,226.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 77,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,486.40. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 51,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $1,279,475.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,177,525. This represents a 28.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 206,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,321,170. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 71,797 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 23,340 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 278,934 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $7,584,000 after purchasing an additional 42,876 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,257,250 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $61,375,000 after buying an additional 80,567 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the 4th quarter valued at $621,000. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 180.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 43,675 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 28,125 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Company Profile

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.