Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), a global provider of products and services to the energy industry, has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from twenty-one research firms covering the company.
This collective endorsement, as reported by MarketBeat.com, reflects a positive outlook on the stock’s future performance. The average 12-month target price set by these brokerages stands at $33.53, indicating potential upside from current levels.
Recent Analyst Price Target Adjustments
While the overall consensus remains positive, several equities research analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Halliburton shares. These adjustments reflect their updated views on the company’s valuation and market conditions.
- Wells Fargo & Company lowered its target price from $29.00 to $27.00 but maintained an “overweight” rating on April 23rd.
- Stifel Nicolaus decreased its price target from $37.00 to $32.00, reiterating a “buy” rating on April 23rd.
- The Goldman Sachs Group adjusted its price target from $27.00 to $24.00, keeping a “buy” rating on May 2nd.
- Citigroup reduced its price target from $33.00 to $31.00, maintaining a “buy” rating on April 24th.
- Barclays lowered its target price from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on April 23rd.
Despite these individual adjustments, the majority of analysts continue to recommend a “buy” for HAL, with fourteen firms issuing a “buy” rating and seven opting for a “hold.”
Halliburton’s Financial Snapshot
On Friday, Halliburton (HAL) opened at $19.60. The company exhibits a healthy financial position, as indicated by several key metrics.
Key Financial Ratios
Halliburton maintains strong liquidity, evidenced by a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.05. Its debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.68, suggesting a manageable level of debt relative to equity.
Stock Performance and Valuation
The stock’s 52-week low is $18.72, while its 52-week high reached $37.08. Currently, the company’s 50-day moving average is $21.21, and its two-hundred-day moving average is $25.28. Halliburton boasts a market capitalization of $16.85 billion. Its valuation metrics include a P/E ratio of 6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79, and a beta of 1.19, indicating its volatility relative to the broader market.
Q1 2025 Earnings and Future Outlook
Halliburton recently reported its first-quarter earnings, meeting analyst expectations.
Strong Quarterly Performance
On Tuesday, April 22nd, the oilfield services company announced $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. This figure precisely matched analysts’ consensus estimates. Halliburton demonstrated strong profitability with a net margin of 10.90% and an impressive return on equity (ROE) of 26.03%.
The firm generated $5.42 billion in revenue during the quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $5.28 billion. Looking ahead, analysts, on average, project Halliburton to post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Quarterly Dividend Announcement
Halliburton also recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record by Wednesday, June 4th, will be eligible for this payout. On an annualized basis, this translates to a $0.68 dividend per share, offering a yield of 3.47% based on current prices. The ex-dividend date for this payment is Wednesday, June 4th. Halliburton’s current dividend payout ratio stands at 28.45%, indicating a sustainable dividend policy.
Insider and Institutional Trading Activity
Recent trading activity by company insiders and large institutional investors provides additional context on sentiment towards Halliburton stock.
Insider Sales
In recent months, some Halliburton insiders have sold shares. CFO Eric Carre sold 51,179 shares on Friday, March 14th, at an average price of $25.00, totaling $1,279,475.00. Following this transaction, Carre’s direct ownership in the company decreased by 28.71% to 127,101 shares. Similarly, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 10,497 shares on Friday, March 7th, at an average price of $24.60, for a total of $258,226.20.
This reduced his direct ownership by 11.89% to 77,784 shares. In total, insiders have sold 65,576 shares valued at $1,631,457 in the last quarter, with insiders collectively owning 0.56% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investor Movements
Conversely, several prominent hedge funds and institutional investors have either increased or initiated positions in Halliburton.
- Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. significantly increased its holdings by 450.9% in Q1, now owning 29,941,771 shares valued at $759,623,000.
- Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake by 1.6% in Q4, holding 24,372,694 shares worth $662,694,000.
- Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake by 4.4% in Q4, owning 21,538,632 shares valued at $584,139,000.
- Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position by 15.6% in Q4, now holding 16,093,680 shares worth $437,587,000.
- Amundi boosted its position by 22.2% in Q4, now owning 13,068,025 shares valued at $353,242,000.
Overall, institutional investors collectively own a substantial 85.23% of Halliburton’s stock, indicating strong confidence from large investment firms.
Halliburton’s Business Segments
Halliburton Company operates globally, providing essential products and services across two primary segments within the energy industry.
Completion and Production Segment
This segment offers a wide array of services crucial for the final stages of oil and gas well development. These include production enhancement services, such as stimulation and sand control, which optimize well output. It also provides cementing services for well bonding and casing, along with necessary casing equipment.
Furthermore, the segment offers completion tools that provide downhole solutions and services, including well completion products, intelligent well completions, service tools, liner hanger systems, sand control solutions, and multilateral systems.
Drilling and Evaluation Segment
The Drilling and Evaluation segment focuses on services and products required during the exploration and drilling phases of a well’s lifecycle. This includes services related to well construction, geological formation evaluation, and drilling optimization.
Beyond Halliburton: Other Investment Opportunities
While Halliburton has a “Moderate Buy” rating from analysts, investors seeking other opportunities might consider looking beyond this single stock. MarketBeat regularly tracks top-rated and best-performing research analysts, providing daily recommendations. These analysts have identified five other stocks they are “quietly whispering” to clients as strong “buy” candidates, suggesting potential for significant market outperformance.
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