Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Halliburton to $42 and kept an "overweight" rating, joining several brokers who lifted targets — the move implies roughly a 6.6% upside from the current share price and the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $40.36.
• Q1 results beat expectations (EPS $0.55 vs. $0.49; revenue $5.40B vs. $5.37B), supporting cash generation, buybacks and dividends, but revenue was down 0.3% YoY and management flagged a Q2 headwind of about $0.07–$0.09 per share from the Iran conflict.
• Insiders sold 415,508 shares (~$15.3M) in the past 90 days while institutional investors own about 85.23% of the stock, signaling insider trimming amid strong institutional interest.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the oilfield services company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 6.64% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Capital One Financial lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.36.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of HAL traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,312,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,668,662. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.68. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $19.22 and a 1-year high of $41.18.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.Halliburton's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction of $1,900,006.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 5,441 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $184,014.62. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 187,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,338,645.86. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 415,508 shares of company stock valued at $15,291,882 in the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 6,507 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 39.0% in the first 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 period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 25.0% in 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 during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 309.1% in 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 during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the first quarter valued at $895,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — EPS $0.55 and $461M net income, revenue $5.4B, stronger international margins and cash generation that supported buybacks/dividend; the print is the primary near‑term catalyst pushing the stock up. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple broker upgrades and price‑target raises (HSBC to $46 buy; JPMorgan to $42 overweight; RBC to $44 outperform; TD Cowen and Griffin also lifted targets) are providing buy‑side momentum and fresh upside expectations. MarketScreener: HSBC PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Management says North America is in the "early innings" of a rebound and expects a drilling ramp — a positive outlook but one that depends on timing of activity recovery. MSN: CEO Comments
• Neutral Sentiment: Company is exploring commercial terms for Venezuela operations — potential upside if deals progress but regulatory/commercial risks remain. Reuters: Venezuela Talks
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged higher costs from the Iran war and quantified a Q2 headwind of about $0.07–$0.09 per share; that increases near‑term margin risk even as revenue held flat year‑over‑year. Seeking Alpha: Conflict Impact
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious: Barclays' equal‑weight stance and Zephirin's sell rating (PT $31) signal that not all sell‑side views turned bullish—these calls could cap upside for traders focused on valuation/near‑term recovery risk. MarketScreener: Zephirin PT

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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