Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong-Buy Rating

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on HAL. Argus raised their price target on Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zephirin Group lowered Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Friday, February 6th. HSBC set a $30.00 price target on shares of Halliburton and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.95.

Halliburton Price Performance

HAL stock opened at $33.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.77. Halliburton has a 12 month low of $18.72 and a 12 month high of $35.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted 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 net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The company had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total transaction of $88,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,043 shares in the company, valued at $479,849.31. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $3,225,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at $13,538,550. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

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.