Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore Analyst Says

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Evercore from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the oilfield services company’s stock. Evercore’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.75% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Halliburton from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.05.

Halliburton Stock Down 0.5%

HAL stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.40. 811,562 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,531,004. The company has a market cap of $32.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $19.44 and a 52 week high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total value of $255,535.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,230. The trade was a 28.65% 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 Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $852,377.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 93,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,927,732.07. This represents a 17.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 420,837 shares of company stock valued at $16,979,135 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Halliburton

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Negative Sentiment: WTI crude fell sharply, pressuring Halliburton and other oil services names as lower oil prices can signal reduced drilling and completion activity by producers. Why Halliburton (HAL) Stock Is Falling Today
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-wide weakness also hit peers such as SLB, Baker Hughes, TechnipFMC, and offshore drillers, reinforcing that the move looks macro-driven rather than company-specific. Helix Energy Solutions and TechnipFMC Shares Plummet, What You Need To Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Noble appointed Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller as a director, a governance-related development that is noteworthy but unlikely to be the main driver of HAL’s stock move today. Noble Appoints Halliburton CEO as Director

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.