UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Raises PT to $52 on Halliburton; North America Bottom Called

BMO Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform rating on Halliburton

and raised the price target from $47.00 to $52.00. BMO Capital Markets commented, "Investors have been looking for a bottom in NA to again re-engage the oil services sector, in our view. The tone of the HAL call was also a catalyst projecting confident market characterization and leadership in NA as well as solid footing internationally. HAL essentially removed the notion of a continued NA headwind in 2013, while last Friday SLB gave investors implicit permission to again like int'l prospects. Whether one accepts it or not, the upcycle continues to grind higher and could still achieve the margin heights of the prior cycle with some pricing. We think domestic capacity issues could be absorbed easily with a rise in gas activity (maybe 2014?) and int'l is much tighter than most realize." Halliburton closed at $37.81 on Friday.