Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other research firms also recently commented on HAL. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Argus boosted their price target on Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Capital One Financial upped their price target on Halliburton from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zephirin Group downgraded Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.81.

Halliburton Price Performance

HAL opened at $39.25 on Friday. Halliburton has a 1 year low of $18.72 and a 1 year high of $41.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.04.

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

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is 45.03%.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 19,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $663,480.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,652,173.70. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 5,441 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $184,014.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 187,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,338,645.86. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 357,053 shares of company stock worth $12,178,682 in the last quarter. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Halliburton in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings in Halliburton by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.