HAL - Halliburton upped at Goldman on clearer path to improved returns dividends

NiseriN/iStock via Getty Images Halliburton (HAL) +3.2% pre-market after Goldman Sachs upgrades shares to Buy from Neutral with a $26 price target, saying the company's turnaround should lead to a dividend increase. A "higher return on capital should drive a higher return of capital" for shareholders, Goldman analyst Neil Mehta writes, raising his annual dividend forecast to $0.72/share in 2022 from $0.18 in 2021 and growing the dividend 10% per year thereafter. Halliburton "presents an opportunity at current levels given the combination of the recent pullback, a stronger than expected margin outlook through 2023, accelerated deleveraging prospects, and the potential for improving capital return to shareholders through an upsized dividend as early as 2022," Mehta writes. Halliburton is up just 6.2% YTD vs. a 26% gain on the S&P 500 Energy Index. Yesterday, Halliburton reported better than expected Q2 earnings and said it expects operating margins to return to 2014 levels

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Halliburton upped at Goldman on clearer path to improved returns, dividends