S&P affirms Halliburton

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed its ratings on Halliburton Co., including the A long-term and A-1 corporate credit ratings.

The outlook remains stable.

Halliburton just announced that it plans to complete $3.3 billion of share repurchases by means of a tender offer. S&P said it expects that the bulk of this transaction will be financed through issuance of new debt, plus use of cash on hand.

These repurchases and the related debt issuance, coupled with the company's completion of $1 billion of share repurchases in the second quarter of 2013, will result increased financial leverage and reduced liquidity, the agency said.

However, the company's debt usage has been moderate, and its liquidity strong, in S&P's assessment.

S&P said it also views the company's earnings outlook to be relatively favorable over the next two to three years, and the company should generate sufficient excess cash flow over this period to enable it to repay the debt it plans to incur or rebuild its cash position; notably, the agency said it believes this is management's intention.

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