StockNews.com Downgrades Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) to Hold

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HAL. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Halliburton from $46.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Halliburton from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Halliburton from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75.

Halliburton Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of HAL stock opened at $33.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $29.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.93. Halliburton has a fifty-two week low of $32.35 and a fifty-two week high of $43.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.12.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Halliburton had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 30.84%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total value of $369,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 283,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,481,883.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total transaction of $369,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 283,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,481,883.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jill D. Sharp sold 3,346 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $123,802.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,845. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,704. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its position in Halliburton by 2.9% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 11,842 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Halliburton by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,891 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Halliburton by 14.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Halliburton by 19.2% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 20,500 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Halliburton by 319.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,956 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 28,137 shares during the period. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Halliburton

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.