Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Given New $44.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $40.00 to $44.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the oilfield services company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 28.99% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on HAL. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Capital One Financial boosted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.38.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $34.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.30 and a 200 day moving average of $27.95. Halliburton has a 12 month low of $18.72 and a 12 month high of $37.03.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $3,225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,538,550. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 14,043 shares in the company, valued at $479,849.31. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 328,148 shares of company stock valued at $11,199,000. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,929,285 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $145,860,000 after purchasing an additional 96,394 shares in the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 98.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 134,365 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after buying an additional 66,765 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,775,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 12.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,645,526 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $40,480,000 after buying an additional 186,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,010,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Halliburton

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.