Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Halliburton from $44.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Atb Cap Markets lowered Halliburton from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Halliburton from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Halliburton from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.53.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HAL traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.67. 7,875,739 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,424,431. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $27.84 and a 1-year high of $43.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $37.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.44.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. Halliburton had a return on equity of 31.59% and a net margin of 11.46%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Halliburton will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $176,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $339,762.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $176,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $339,762.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $13,308,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 759,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,793,229.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Halliburton by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 43,177 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 3,088 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Halliburton during the 1st quarter worth about $1,810,000. Washington Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Halliburton by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,120 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Halliburton by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,227 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS bought a new position in Halliburton during the 1st quarter worth about $531,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

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.