Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL – Get Rating) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on HAL. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Monday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $57.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $43.90 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.24.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Halliburton stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.20. 9,728,879 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,460,654. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Halliburton has a fifty-two week low of $23.30 and a fifty-two week high of $43.99. The company has a market capitalization of $27.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 2.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.68.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The oilfield services company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. Halliburton had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 29.38%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. Halliburton’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Halliburton will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 271,283 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.25, for a total value of $8,206,310.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 829,230 shares in the company, valued at $25,084,207.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 271,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.25, for a total value of $8,206,310.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 829,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,084,207.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Charles Jr. Geer sold 12,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.60, for a total transaction of $369,189.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 52,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,200.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HAL. EWG Elevate Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Ossiam raised its stake in Halliburton by 1,434.1% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 629 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in Halliburton by 74.1% during the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 1,266 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Halliburton

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Halliburton Co engages in the provision of services and products to the energy industry related to the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas. It operates through the Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation segments. The Completion and Production segment delivers cementing, stimulation, intervention, pressure control, specialty chemicals, artificial lift, and completion services.