Brokerages Set Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) Price Target at $34.76

Shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.9524.

HAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price target on Halliburton in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Halliburton Stock Up 3.5%

HAL stock opened at $35.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.19. Halliburton has a 12 month low of $18.72 and a 12 month high of $35.55. The company has a market cap of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.77.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total value of $88,842.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,043 shares in the company, valued at $479,849.31. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction of $5,985,152.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,101,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,499,455.28. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 497,002 shares of company stock valued at $15,889,138. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter worth $31,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.