Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 27,134 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 81% compared to the average daily volume of 15,005 call options.

Halliburton Stock Down 0.8%

HAL traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $33.22. The company had a trading volume of 12,669,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,929,984. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.15. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $22.22 and a 52 week high of $43.59. The company has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%. The business had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 35.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on HAL shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Halliburton from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, COO Jeffrey Slocum sold 52,572 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 118,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,166,235.70. This trade represents a 30.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,812,327,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter valued at approximately $345,941,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter valued at approximately $337,486,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the second quarter valued at approximately $196,444,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth about $194,675,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Halliburton

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) is a global provider of products and services for the energy industry. The company supports the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas through technologies and services used throughout the life cycle of a well.

Halliburton operates through two primary business segments: Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. Its offerings include cementing, stimulation, well completion, production enhancement, drilling services, drilling fluids, well testing, wireline and perforating services, formation evaluation, and project management.