Zacks_Analysts' Blog : Halliburton Named in DJSI, Again - Analyst Blog

For the second year in a row, major oilfield service provider Halliburton Co. (HAL) has been selected as a member of the global Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (“DJSI”), the global indicator tracking the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide.

Launched in 1999, DJSI is widely considered as the benchmark in this area. The index is drawn up by Dow Jones in collaboration with investment management firm Strategic Asset Management (“SAM”).

Halliburton has been selected as a 2011 North America and World Leader by the DJSI in the Global Oil Services sector, which the company claims is recognition of its world class services, products, and programs, as well as the successful integration of corporate responsibility and sustainability into overall business practices.

Houston, Texas-based Halliburton is one of the largest oilfield service providers in the world, offering a variety of equipment, maintenance, and engineering and construction services to the energy, industrial, and government sectors. The company operates under two main segments: Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation.

Halliburton shares currently retain a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term 'Hold' rating. Longer-term, we are ‘Neutral’ on the company.

We like Halliburton’s leadership status in the global oilfield services market. We also appreciate its broad and technologically-complex product/service offerings as well as its very strong relationships with both publicly-traded and national oil companies worldwide.

The company has been benefiting from increased activity in the unconventional oil and gas shale plays in North America, which have more than made up for the drop in deepwater Gulf of Mexico (“GoM”) activity and disruptions in North Africa.

However, the world's second-largest oilfield services company after Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) continues to feel pressure from intense competition in the market, depressed natural gas prices, a volatile situation in Libya and the expected curtailment in incremental drilling projects. The dip in oil prices to around $80 per barrel is likely to further limit its ability to generate positive earnings surprises.