Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Price Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Halliburton shares moved above their 200-day moving average, reaching $36.03 and last trading near $35.73, signaling improved technical momentum.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 18 Buy ratings, five Holds, and one Sell; the consensus is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $43.86.
• Halliburton exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.60 in EPS and $5.70 billion in revenue, while maintaining a $0.17 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.9% yield.

Shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $35.71 and traded as high as $36.03. Halliburton shares last traded at $35.7330, with a volume of 12,501,300 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of Halliburton from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Argus cut their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.86.

Halliburton Trading Up 0.3%

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $34.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The oilfield services company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.36% and a net margin of 8.90%. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halliburton news, COO Jeffrey Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $1,844,751.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 118,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,166,235.70. The trade was a 30.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HAL. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Halliburton by 128.8% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,284,612 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $89,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,095 shares during the period. Private Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter worth $10,443,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 18.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 961,660 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $32,648,000 after acquiring an additional 147,329 shares in the last quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP increased its position in shares of Halliburton by 21.5% during the second quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 726,193 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $24,654,000 after acquiring an additional 128,472 shares during the period. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the first quarter worth $34,741,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Halliburton

Halliburton Company NYSE: HAL is a global provider of products and services for the energy industry. The company supports the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas through technologies and services used throughout the life cycle of a well.

Halliburton operates through two primary business segments: Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. Its offerings include cementing, stimulation, well completion, production enhancement, drilling services, drilling fluids, well testing, wireline and perforating services, formation evaluation, and project management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.