HAL stock is trading at $37.51 — we rate it a Hold with a $35.06 average price target from 36 analysts, but a recent JPMorgan upgrade to $40 and Evercore’s shift to Outperform suggest the next leg of the HAL stock forecast 2026 may stretch above consensus.
Halliburton just printed within 9% of a 52-week high — so why is the average analyst price target sitting below where HAL trades today? That is the contrarian question the HAL stock forecast 2026 has to answer before any new long position makes sense.
HAL Stock Key Data at a Glance
| Metric | Value |
| Current Price (April 14, 2026) | $37.51 |
| 52-Week Range | $19.22 – $41.18 |
| Market Capitalization | ~$32.5B |
| P/E Ratio (TTM) | ~13x |
| EPS (TTM) | ~$2.85 |
| 2026E EPS | $2.25 (range $1.96 – $2.92) |
| Analyst Consensus | Buy (18 of 36 analysts) |
| Average Price Target | $35.06 |
| High / Low Price Target | $46.48 / $28.00 |
| Q1 2026 Earnings Date | April 21, 2026 |
| 2026 Free Cash Flow (est.) | ~$1.8B (+6% YoY) |
Table of Contents
- HAL Stock Key Data at a Glance
- What Is Halliburton and Why Does the HAL Stock Forecast 2026 Matter?
- Recent HAL Stock Performance and the March Rally
- HAL Stock Forecast 2026: Can Shares Reach $40?
- HAL Valuation Analysis: 13x Earnings and a 6% FCF Yield
- Bullish and Bearish Analyst Opinions on Halliburton
- HAL Analyst Price Targets: JPMorgan, Evercore and the $46 Bull Case
- Frequently Asked Questions About HAL Stock
What Is Halliburton and Why Does the HAL Stock Forecast 2026 Matter?
Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) is one of the world’s three largest oilfield services providers, alongside SLB (Schlumberger) and Baker Hughes. The company runs two operating segments: Completion & Production, which includes hydraulic fracturing, cementing, well intervention and pressure pumping; and Drilling & Evaluation, which spans drilling fluids, directional drilling, formation evaluation and software. Roughly 60% of revenue comes from North America — heavily levered to US shale rig and frac counts — and 40% from international markets, where activity has been more durable. The HAL stock forecast 2026 is therefore a function of two distinct cycles: the slow, multi-year international upcycle, and the more volatile North American shale cycle that is finally showing signs of stabilising after a 2024–2025 capex digestion.
Why does the HAL stock forecast 2026 deserve fresh attention now? Three reasons. First, JPMorgan raised its price target to $40 from $35 on March 27, citing higher-confidence international margin expansion. Second, Evercore ISI upgraded HAL to Outperform from In Line on March 20 on the same thesis. Third, free cash flow guidance for 2026 was nudged to roughly $1.8 billion, a 6% year-over-year increase that supports continued buyback execution. The HAL stock price has responded — up sharply from the $19.22 fifty-two-week low to $37.51 — but the average analyst target of $35.06 actually sits modestly below today’s print. That gap is the central tension in the HAL stock forecast 2026 debate.
The bullish and bearish analyst opinions on Halliburton split cleanly along that axis: bulls are using the upcycle in international and offshore activity to push targets toward $46, while bears anchor on a North American frac fleet that is still operating below 2023 utilisation peaks. Add in oil price uncertainty — WTI ranging between $65 and $80 over the last three months — and the HAL stock forecast 2026 becomes a study in margin discipline more than top-line growth.
Recent HAL Stock Performance and the March Rally
HAL traded at $37.51 on April 14, down 2.85% from the prior close of $38.61, but the longer-frame move has been emphatically bullish. The stock is up nearly 95% from its 52-week low of $19.22 and sits within 9% of the $41.18 high. The main driver of the March rally was a sequence of positive Wall Street moves: Evercore upgraded on March 20, JPMorgan lifted its target on March 27, and a quiet earnings preseason has seen no negative pre-announcements from international operators that often telegraph weakness in HAL’s customer base.
Compared with peers, HAL has tracked the energy services group closely but with marginally better drawdowns. Chevron stock price has chopped sideways while ExxonMobil stock price has slipped on commodity volatility. SLB and Baker Hughes have traded in a similar pattern to HAL, suggesting the move is sector-wide rather than idiosyncratic. The broader theme: international and offshore capex is the marginal source of growth in 2026, and HAL is more exposed to those buckets than its North America-heavy mix typically suggests, partly because of its higher revenue per international rig.
Volume during the rally has been constructive but not euphoric, which is a positive signal for trend continuation. Short interest has fallen, and the open-interest profile in front-month options shows balanced flow rather than crowded calls — meaning a Q1 earnings beat would not face a wall of dealer hedging on the upside. That technical setup is one of the inputs powering the more constructive HAL stock forecast 2026 from JPMorgan and Evercore.
HAL Stock Forecast 2026: Can Shares Reach $40?
The base case for the HAL stock forecast 2026 is a slow, fundamentals-led grind toward the JPMorgan $40 target, conditional on three things: international segment EBIT margins staying above 19%, North American frac pricing stabilising at current levels, and free cash flow conversion of roughly 60–65% of EBITDA. If those three boxes are checked across Q1 and Q2, HAL has a credible path to $40 by mid-2026. From there, Evercore’s reset to Outperform implies the next move would be toward $42–$44 by year-end, with the bull-case $46.48 on the high end requiring an oil price recovery to the upper $80s and a sustained re-acceleration of US frac demand.
The bear case for the HAL stock forecast 2026 is the inverse: international margins compressing back toward 17%, North American utilisation slipping again, and oil pulling back toward $60. In that world, the low Street target of $28 becomes a soft floor and the stock retraces to the low-$30s. The middle scenario — flat margins, oil rangebound at $65–$75 — produces a stock that hovers around the $35.06 average target. None of those scenarios are catastrophic, which is why the bearish stance on HAL is “wait for a pullback” rather than “sell.”
Earnings on April 21 will be the next major catalyst for the HAL stock forecast 2026. Consensus EPS of $0.51 is achievable on current activity levels; the more important data point will be management’s commentary on international margins, North American frac pricing, and the trajectory of share repurchases. A meaningful uplift to either margin guidance or the buyback pace would compress the gap between the current price and the JPMorgan $40 target.
HAL Valuation Analysis: 13x Earnings and a 6% FCF Yield
At $37.51 and 2026E EPS of $2.25, HAL trades at roughly 16.7x forward earnings — a touch above its 5-year median of 14x but well below historical peak multiples of 22–25x reached in prior energy cycles. On TTM EPS of about $2.85, the trailing P/E is closer to 13x. The $1.8 billion of 2026 free cash flow translates to a free-cash-flow yield of roughly 5.5–6.0% on the current $32.5 billion market cap. That is generous for a company with high-single-digit organic growth and a buyback program that has been retiring 3–4% of shares annually.
| Company | Forward P/E | FCF Yield | 2026E Revenue Growth | Dividend Yield |
| Halliburton (HAL) | 16.7x | ~5.8% | ~3–5% | ~1.9% |
| SLB (Schlumberger) | ~14x | ~6.5% | ~5–7% | ~2.5% |
| Baker Hughes | ~17x | ~5.0% | ~6–8% | ~2.1% |
| S&P 500 Average | ~21x | ~3.5% | ~10% | ~1.4% |
On a relative-value basis, HAL is priced inline with US oilfield services peers but at a discount to the broader market. The 5.8% free-cash-flow yield is the most compelling number in the file — it implies that even with zero growth, HAL returns close to its full market capitalisation in cash over the next 17 years, which is a high bar for a Sell rating. The setup is compelling at current levels, but the average analyst target sitting below the current price is a warning that consensus is not yet ready to chase.
Bullish and Bearish Analyst Opinions on Halliburton
| Bull Case | Bear Case |
| JPMorgan target raised to $40; Evercore upgraded to Outperform on margin expansion | Average Street target of $35.06 sits below the current $37.51 — consensus has not yet caught up |
| 2026 free cash flow guided to $1.8B (+6% YoY) supports buybacks and dividend | North American frac fleet still operating below 2023 utilisation peaks |
| International segment margins running above 19% on offshore and Middle East strength | Oil-price volatility (WTI $65–$80) caps customer capex visibility |
| 16.7x forward P/E vs 14x 5-year median is reasonable given improving margin mix | Stock has rallied 95% off the 52-week low; risk/reward favours patience |
| Buyback retiring 3–4% of shares per year provides structural EPS support | Q1 print on April 21 could disappoint on North American pricing |
The bullish and bearish analyst opinions on Halliburton split along the same line that shapes the HAL stock forecast 2026: international optimism versus North American caution. Investors who believe the offshore and Middle East upcycle has multi-year duration land on the JPMorgan/Evercore side. Investors who think North American shale will remain capex-constrained anchor closer to the bear targets in the high-$20s.
HAL Analyst Price Targets: JPMorgan, Evercore and the $46 Bull Case
- JPMorgan — Raised target to $40 from $35 on March 27, 2026, citing improving international margin trajectory.
- Evercore ISI — Upgraded to Outperform from In Line on March 20, 2026, with a constructive 2026 thesis.
- High Street target — $46.48, predicated on oil pulling back to the upper $80s and US frac re-acceleration.
- Low Street target — $28.00, predicated on multi-quarter North American utilisation softness.
- Average target — $35.06 across 36 analysts; consensus rating tilts Buy (18 of 36).
Our verdict: Hold with a buy-on-pullback bias. The HAL stock forecast 2026 is constructive at the JPMorgan $40 level, but with shares already 95% above the 52-week low and the average target below today’s price, waiting for a pullback into the $34–$35 range — closer to the Street average and the 5-year median forward multiple — is the disciplined entry. Q1 earnings on April 21 will resolve much of the uncertainty.
Frequently Asked Questions About HAL Stock
What is the HAL stock forecast 2026?
The base case HAL stock forecast 2026 points to roughly $35–$40 by year-end, anchored on a $35.06 Street average, JPMorgan’s $40 target and Evercore’s Outperform upgrade. The bull case stretches to $46 if international margins expand further and oil reaches the upper $80s; the bear case rebases to the high-$20s if North American frac pricing softens.
Is HAL stock a buy in 2026?
Here’s the nuance: 18 of 36 analysts rate HAL a Buy, but the average price target of $35.06 sits modestly below today’s $37.51 print. That tells you the long-term thesis is intact, but the market has already priced in much of the near-term improvement. A more disciplined approach is to wait for a pullback toward $34 or for the April 21 earnings print to confirm 2026 margin guidance.
What are the bullish and bearish analyst opinions on Halliburton?
Bulls highlight JPMorgan’s upgrade to $40, Evercore’s Outperform call, $1.8 billion of 2026 free cash flow and international margin expansion. Bears point to the average Street target sitting below the current price, North American frac utilisation still below 2023 peaks, and oil-price volatility capping customer capex.
Why is HAL stock up so much from the lows?
HAL has rallied roughly 95% from its 52-week low of $19.22 because the international segment is delivering above-19% margins, free cash flow is growing 6% in 2026, and the buyback is retiring shares at a 3–4% annual pace. The Evercore upgrade and JPMorgan target raise crystallised the move in March 2026.
What is HAL’s average analyst price target?
Across 36 analysts, the HAL average price target is $35.06. The high target is $46.48 and the low is $28.00. Eighteen analysts rate the stock a Buy.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should conduct thorough due diligence and consult qualified financial advisors before making investment decisions.
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