Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Price

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the oilfield services company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.36.

Halliburton Price Performance

Halliburton stock opened at $39.13 on Wednesday. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $19.22 and a 52 week high of $41.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $32.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.68.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.06. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.03%.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 19,618 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total transaction of $663,480.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at $11,652,173.70. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 14,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,849.31. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 415,508 shares of company stock worth $15,291,882 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its stake in Halliburton by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on profits and revenues — HAL reported $0.55 EPS (above consensus) and $5.40B revenue; net income rose to $461M, operating margin expanded and the company generated positive free cash flow while repurchasing stock and paying a dividend. This is the primary driver lifting the stock. BusinessWire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — multiple firms moved to “buy/overweight” or raised targets (HSBC, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, Griffin, Stifel), signaling higher near-term earnings confidence and supporting the rally. Investing.com: Upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Management outlook — CEO said U.S. oil activity looks to be in the “early innings” of a rebound and a North American drilling ramp-up may be coming; encouraging long-term demand signal but timing remains uncertain for investors. MSN: CEO Comments
• Neutral Sentiment: Commercial moves in Venezuela — Halliburton said it’s discussing commercial terms after recent facility visits; potential upside if business resumes but geopolitics and execution risk make near-term impact uncertain. Reuters: Venezuela Talks
• Negative Sentiment: Iran conflict cost headwind — management flagged higher costs tied to the Iran war and estimated a Q2 EPS impact of roughly $0.07–$0.09 while keeping 2026 capex at ~$1.1B; this creates near-term earnings uncertainty. Seeking Alpha: Conflict Impact
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/positioning caution — a few analysts warned the stock’s strong rally increases uncertainty and one boutique firm kept a sell stance; that produced some cautious notes amid otherwise constructive analyst action. Seeking Alpha: Downgrade/Warning

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.