Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Halliburton from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Halliburton from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Freedom Capital raised shares of Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.24.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $31.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02. Halliburton has a fifty-two week low of $21.46 and a fifty-two week high of $43.59. The company has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.83.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In related news, COO Jeffrey 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 value of $1,844,751.48. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Halliburton by 128.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,284,612 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $89,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,095 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,274,017 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $64,306,000 after purchasing an additional 397,282 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 96.7% in the fourth quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 154,980 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $4,380,000 after purchasing an additional 76,186 shares in the last quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. now owns 275,153 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $7,776,000 after purchasing an additional 116,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,443,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

About Halliburton

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) is a global provider of products and services for the energy industry. The company supports the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas through technologies and services used throughout the life cycle of a well.

Halliburton operates through two primary business segments: Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. Its offerings include cementing, stimulation, well completion, production enhancement, drilling services, drilling fluids, well testing, wireline and perforating services, formation evaluation, and project management.