Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $32.23 and last traded at $31.5960, with a volume of 1348346 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.60.

Key Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat deep-dive: a U.S.-led push to rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry is being priced as a multi‑year, $100+ billion capex opportunity that should directly benefit oilfield services providers like Halliburton (well construction, cementing, repair work). This is the primary bullish fundamental catalyst behind recent rallies. The Caracas Catalyst: Big Oil’s $100 Billion Opportunity (HAL)
• Positive Sentiment: News-driven rally: comments about U.S. firms investing in Venezuela and related geopolitical moves sparked a sharp jump in HAL (recently hit a 52-week high), showing strong momentum from event-driven flows. That same dynamic attracted higher option and equity volume. Halliburton (HAL) Stock Rallies Following Trump Venezuela Comments
• Positive Sentiment: Elevated bullish positioning: analysts and commentary noted a recent 7.8% session surge and unusually large call‑option activity, indicating short-term speculative conviction that upside remains if the Venezuela narrative persists. Halliburton (HAL) Soars 7.8%: Is Further Upside Left in the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market conversation is mixed: social and Quiver summaries show strong bullish chatter but also caution about hype and insider sales; upcoming Q4 earnings (expected Jan 21) is a proximate catalyst that could confirm or temper the rally. Halliburton Stock (HAL) Opinions on Venezuela Oil Developments
• Neutral Sentiment: Congressional / political trading headlines (coverage of a Rep. purchase and other political actors) are drawing attention; this affects sentiment but not the company’s fundamentals directly. Monitor for regulatory or reputational follow-ups. U.S. politician profits from Venezuela crisis after super suspicious oil stock trade
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Evercore ISI cut Halliburton to “in line” (cited North America exposure) while raising peers, a direct headwind that likely amplified selling pressure after the short-lived rally. SLB raised on reduced risk profile, Halliburton cut on North America exposure at Evercore ISI
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Halliburton EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares (~$3.2M) recently, reducing his stake materially; multiple insider sales have been flagged in filings, which can weigh on investor confidence during volatile moves. SEC filing – Insider Sale (Lawrence J. Pope)
• Negative Sentiment: Price pullback note: headline coverage reports HAL trading lower amid broader session gains as the market rotates out of a rapid news‑driven trade; that suggests short‑term profit taking and higher volatility until fundamentals (earnings, contract wins, or Venezuela licensing clarity) arrive. Halliburton (HAL) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on HAL shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Halliburton from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research raised Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Redburn Partners set a $35.00 price target on Halliburton in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded Halliburton to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Halliburton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.05.

Halliburton Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.28.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $3,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mark Richard sold 160,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $4,443,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 452,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,562,425.98. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 268,854 shares of company stock valued at $7,915,138. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Halliburton by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,363,599 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,147,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617,696 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 81.8% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 40,969,139 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 1.2% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,287,989 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $617,269,000 after purchasing an additional 346,218 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 9.4% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 26,004,682 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $639,715,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,983 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,342,963 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $453,461,000 after purchasing an additional 92,549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

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.