Brokerages Set Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) Target Price at $43.10

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.0952.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HAL shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on Halliburton from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Halliburton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Argus cut their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total transaction of $8,189,830.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,036,019.94. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HAL. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Stock Up 1.5%

Halliburton stock opened at $32.36 on Friday. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $20.39 and a 52 week high of $43.59. The stock has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Halliburton will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

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.