Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on HAL. Piper Sandler upgraded Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Capital One Financial lifted their target price on Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.10.

Halliburton Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $35.38 on Friday. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $21.40 and a 12-month high of $43.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.95 and a 200-day moving average of $36.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $29.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.73.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other news, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 118,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,166,235.70. This represents a 30.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,382.80. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia grew 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. ABN Amro Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $827,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lifted its stake in Halliburton by 172.6% in the fourth quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 110,000 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after buying an additional 69,644 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 373,949 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $10,568,000 after buying an additional 67,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nwam LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,731,000. 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: Halliburton Labs added Electroflow, Osmoses and SiTration to its portfolio. The companies focus on battery materials, gas separation and critical-metal recovery, giving Halliburton exposure to emerging energy technologies and potentially supporting longer-term diversification beyond traditional oilfield services. Halliburton Labs Announces Three New Portfolio Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton’s latest quarterly results showed modest operational strength: earnings per share exceeded estimates, revenue reached $5.71 billion versus a $5.50 billion consensus, and sales increased 3.7% year over year. Analysts remain broadly constructive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $43.10, well above recent trading levels. Q2 Rundown: Halliburton Vs Other Oilfield Services Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent options-market activity has drawn attention to the possibility of a larger move in HAL, but the available report does not establish whether traders are positioned for a rise or decline. The activity mainly signals increased volatility expectations. Are Options Traders Betting on a Big Move in Halliburton Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 52,572 shares worth approximately $1.84 million, reducing his direct ownership by 30.69%. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it a weaker bearish signal, but the size of the sale may still weigh on sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Although Halliburton beat quarterly estimates, EPS was unchanged from the year-earlier period, and analysts have recently lowered several price targets. That combination suggests expectations for near-term oilfield-services growth remain restrained despite the company’s longer-term opportunities.

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.