Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Halliburton to a "strong-buy", joining other recent analyst support; overall, 17 analysts rate the stock Buy, 6 Hold and 1 Sell with an average target of $40.73.
• Halliburton's Q1 beat expectations with EPS of $0.55 versus $0.50 and revenue of $5.40B versus $5.37B, driven by stronger international demand and tech/offshore wins highlighted by management.
• Insiders have sold roughly 189,960 shares (~$7.4M) in the past 90 days while institutional investors own about 85% of the stock; shares are trading near their one‑year high around $40.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, April 10th. HSBC boosted their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Halliburton from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seventeen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.73.

Halliburton Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of HAL stock opened at $40.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.08. Halliburton has a 1 year low of $19.22 and a 1 year high of $41.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.68.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Halliburton will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total value of $88,842.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,849.31. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $132,187.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 81,631 shares in the company, valued at $2,805,657.47. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,960 shares of company stock worth $7,406,724. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth about $1,054,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,929,285 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $145,860,000 after acquiring an additional 96,394 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,775,000. Tejara Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 98.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 134,365 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 66,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,645,526 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $40,480,000 after acquiring an additional 186,105 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Halliburton

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations: Halliburton reported EPS above consensus and revenue slightly ahead, with stronger international demand across Latin America, Europe and Africa — the primary driver cited by management for improved sentiment. Why HAL Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlights tech and offshore wins that helped offset turbulence, reinforcing the company’s growth levers outside North America. Halliburton Earnings Call
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger international activity lifted sector peers and regional contractors (RPC rallied on the read‑through), signaling the beat could translate into broader services demand. RPC Reaction
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price‑target raises (Citigroup and Argus moved targets higher and maintained buy ratings) provide additional near‑term upside and validation of the company’s outlook. Benzinga PT Raise Argus PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Management and CEO commentary point to a U.S. drilling rebound being in the “early innings,” suggesting improving North American activity could boost domestic revenue later in 2026. CEO Comments
• Positive Sentiment: Macro tailwind — producers and service firms expect crude prices to stay elevated following geopolitical developments, which supports higher activity and pricing for Halliburton’s services. Crude Price Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Index/market positioning: Halliburton gained visibility in Russell 1000 energy reweighting, which can increase passive flows but is a one‑time technical factor. Russell 1000 Spotlight
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector context: Other energy names (e.g., Liberty Energy) reported solid results — positive for sentiment but not a direct read‑through to Halliburton’s fundamentals. Liberty Energy Q1
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative reviews and surveys of Halliburton vs. peers appear, offering varied analyst viewpoints; these are informative but won’t move fundamentals unless tied to new data. Peer Comparisons

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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