Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Halliburton from a "strong‑buy" to a "buy," though 17 analysts still rate HAL a Buy (6 Hold, 1 Sell) and the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $41.09.
• Halliburton beat Q1 EPS estimates with $0.55 (vs. $0.50) while revenue was $5.40B, down 0.3% year‑over‑year; the stock trades near its 12‑month high with a market cap of about $34.8B and a P/E around 22.9.
• Insider selling totaled ~202,140 shares (~$7.94M) in the last 90 days (insiders own 0.57%), while institutional investors hold roughly 85.23% of the company, a mix that could affect sentiment.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.09.

Halliburton Stock Down 1.4%

HAL stock opened at $41.69 on Friday. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $19.22 and a 12-month high of $42.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $34.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.07.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 19,618 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $663,480.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at $11,652,173.70. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,250 shares in the company, valued at $636,230. This represents a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 202,140 shares of company stock worth $7,936,927. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 91,030,451 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $2,239,349,000 after acquiring an additional 40,969,139 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 82,596.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $841,339,000 after acquiring an additional 29,735,387 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $418,738,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at about $169,304,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $147,315,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Macro demand outlook — Oil‑service firms are positioning for a boom as global oil investment and producer activity pick up, which should lift equipment and services demand for Halliburton. Swashbuckling oil-services firms are preparing for a boom
• Positive Sentiment: Customer pull — Halliburton executives say smaller operators are "vacuuming up" idle equipment, implying increased utilization and potential revenue pickup for service providers. Halliburton executives: Smaller operators vacuuming up equipment slack
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/TV support — Media and commentators (including Jim Cramer) are publicly positive on HAL as a cyclical play that has held up, which can support short‑term demand for the stock. Jim Cramer on Halliburton: “It’s Been a Good Stock Even in a Bad Oil Market”
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent results mixed — Last quarter HAL narrowly beat EPS and revenue estimates but showed modest year‑over‑year revenue decline; beats help sentiment but leave limited upside without stronger growth. MarketBeat HAL profile / recent earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy-market divergence — Global gas tightness versus a US glut creates uneven activity across regions and basins; this mixed market backdrop could mute uniform upside for service companies. While Asia and Europe scramble for natural gas, the US glut has nowhere to go
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — VP Timothy McKeon sold 8,655 shares (under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan, which lowers interpretive weight), and director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares (a ~28.7% cut to her holdings). Insider sales can sap sentiment even if some are pre‑arranged. McKeon Form 4 Young Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/caution — Commentary that the recent rally "leaves little room for error" and other cautionary takes increase downside risk if growth disappoints or macro conditions shift. Halliburton: Recent Rally Leaves Little Room For Error

Halliburton Company Profile

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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