Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.19.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of HAL stock opened at $35.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.77 and a 200-day moving average of $27.67. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $18.72 and a 12-month high of $37.03.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. Halliburton’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 45.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $3,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,538,550. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.