Morgan Stanley Raises Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Price Target to $50.00

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the oilfield services company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 29.13% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Halliburton from $44.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Halliburton from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Halliburton from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.82.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Halliburton stock opened at $38.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.40. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $27.84 and a 52 week high of $43.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.67 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 31.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Halliburton news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $13,308,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 759,015 shares in the company, valued at $26,793,229.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $176,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $339,762.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $13,308,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 759,015 shares in the company, valued at $26,793,229.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $400,070,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,878,811 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $284,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,485 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 237.6% in the third quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 1,677,194 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $67,926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,406 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Halliburton by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,217,704 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $224,770,000 after purchasing an additional 962,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Halliburton by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,539,062 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $91,787,000 after purchasing an additional 859,440 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.