Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Cut to “Hold” at Zephirin Group

Zephirin Group lowered shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Zephirin Group currently has $28.00 price target on the oilfield services company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $30.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on HAL. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Halliburton to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Capital One Financial upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Halliburton from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.57.

Halliburton Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of HAL stock opened at $33.97 on Friday. Halliburton has a 1 year low of $18.72 and a 1 year high of $35.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.33. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $28.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.78.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mark Richard sold 160,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value of $4,443,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 452,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,562,425.98. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 8,854 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.89, for a total transaction of $246,938.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 333,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,302,095.92. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 268,854 shares of company stock valued at $7,915,138. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and operational momentum — HAL topped EPS and revenue expectations, with improved margins and management emphasizing capital returns (buybacks/dividends) that support per-share value. MarketBeat: Halliburton Beat Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price-target raises — multiple firms (TD Cowen, Susquehanna, RBC, BMO, JPMorgan, Evercore, Stifel, Capital One) raised targets or ratings after results, signaling consensus sentiment lift and providing upward price catalysts. Benzinga: Analysts Increase Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: New strategic initiatives — a $35M Halliburton–A*STAR lab in Singapore targets faster tech-enabled growth in Asia, supporting international revenue diversification and longer-term service/product improvements. SBR: Halliburton, A*STAR $35m lab
• Positive Sentiment: Venezuela opportunity — company comments and hiring activity point to a potential quick re-entry if cleared politically, which could materially expand international revenue. WSJ: Halliburton Prepares to Re-Enter Venezuela
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity and new highs — large call buying and a 12-month high reflect elevated speculative and institutional interest, but they can amplify short-term volatility. AmericanBankingNews: Investors Buy Calls
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector noise — broader energy-market swings and geopolitics (plus periodic headlines) create background volatility that can mask company fundamentals in the near term. SeeItMarket: Energy Stocks Steady Amid Macro Chaos
• Negative Sentiment: Profit nuance — while EPS beat, net income edged down year-over-year (reported net income decline), highlighting some margin or one-time items that temper the beat. Yahoo: Q4 net income falls 4.2%
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — Zephirin Group cut HAL from Buy to Hold and trimmed its target to $28, flagging downside risk and reminding investors not all analysts are convinced upside is sustained. MarketScreener: Zephirin Downgrades HAL

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.