Analysts Set Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Price Target at $43.17

Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.56.

A number of research firms recently commented on HAL. StockNews.com downgraded Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Halliburton from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Halliburton from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $29.05 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.89. Halliburton has a 52-week low of $27.52 and a 52-week high of $43.85.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The oilfield services company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Halliburton had a return on equity of 29.97% and a net margin of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Halliburton will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 23.53%.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In related news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total value of $367,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 273,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,066,119. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Halliburton in the first quarter worth $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Halliburton by 274.9% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Halliburton in the first quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Halliburton by 286.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the period. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.