Argus Cuts Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Price Target to $40.00

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its price objective reduced by Argus from $45.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oilfield services company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Griffin Securities raised shares of Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.14.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $33.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $27.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71. Halliburton has a 12 month low of $20.39 and a 12 month high of $43.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total value of $8,189,830.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 146,186 shares in the company, valued at $6,036,019.94. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total value of $255,535.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,230. This trade represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 128.8% in 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 buying an additional 1,286,095 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,195,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $827,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc raised its position in Halliburton by 172.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 69,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 373,949 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $10,568,000 after acquiring an additional 67,369 shares during the period. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton reported Q2 revenue of $5.71 billion and EPS of $0.55, both modestly ahead of expectations, reinforcing that core business performance remains solid. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company won a new integrated field development contract with Basra Oil Company in Iraq, adding another large international project and expanding its presence in a key oil-producing region. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton also secured additional development work in Kuwait, reinforcing the view that recent contract wins are improving its growth outlook and supporting its international business mix. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces pointed to a stronger long-term outlook thanks to Halliburton’s technology edge and global contract pipeline, but also noted that geopolitical risk and uneven execution could limit near-term upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen reportedly lowered expectations for Halliburton, and other firms trimmed price targets, suggesting analysts remain cautious even as the stock benefits from new business wins.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts and mixed sentiment may cap enthusiasm if investors worry that recent contract wins are not enough to quickly reaccelerate margins or earnings growth.

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.