Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Argus

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Argus from $45.00 to $40.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the oilfield services company’s stock. Argus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.83% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on HAL. UBS Group boosted their price target on Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday. Zephirin Group boosted their target price on Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.14.

Halliburton Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of HAL traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $33.66. 1,566,140 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,979,552. The stock has a market cap of $28.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Halliburton has a twelve month low of $20.39 and a twelve month high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Halliburton’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In related news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $363,510.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 72,976 shares in the company, valued at $3,064,992. This represents a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HAL. Ballast Inc. lifted its position in Halliburton by 12.9% in the second quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 50,273 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 5,730 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Halliburton by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,423 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $4,088,000 after buying an additional 3,256 shares during the period. Tema ETFs LLC increased its holdings in Halliburton by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 17,617 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 66.2% in the 2nd quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 17,315 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BFI Infinity Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. BFI Infinity Ltd. now owns 120,276 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after buying an additional 4,304 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton won a multi-year development agreement from Kuwait Oil to support the Ahmadi Innovation Valley, adding another international contract win and reinforcing its growth pipeline. Kuwait Oil Company Awards Long-Term Agreement to Advance Technology Development Ahmadi Innovation Valley
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at TD Cowen kept a buy rating and only trimmed their price target slightly, suggesting Wall Street still sees meaningful upside after the selloff. Halliburton Stock Slides as Regional Pressure Squeezes Middle East Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent commentary pieces argued the post-earnings drop may have created a buying opportunity, citing Halliburton’s beat-and-raise style fundamentals, margin improvement, and improving international demand. Halliburton: Q2 Sell-Off Creates A Buying Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Freedom Capital upgraded Halliburton from strong sell to hold, which is less bearish than before but not a strong endorsement. Zacks.com
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were disappointed by management’s warning that Middle East activity remains pressured, especially in Kuwait, Iraq, and Qatar, which weighed on sentiment despite the earnings beat. Halliburton Earnings Beat Estimates. Why the Stock Is Falling.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports noted that Halliburton’s Q2 beat was only modest and that the revenue outlook was tepid, which suggests the market is concerned growth may not accelerate quickly. Halliburton tumbles on tepid revenue forecast, Middle East recovery 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.