Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Halliburton Call Options (NYSE:HAL)

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 35,846 call options on the company. This is an increase of 73% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,771 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Halliburton news, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,230. This represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Halliburton by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 6,507 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 39.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,341 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 20,583 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 25.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 10,408 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 309.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 52,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 1st quarter valued at $895,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Capital One Financial raised their price target on Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Zephirin Group lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.18.

Key Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton landed a key integrated contract to develop the Bin Umar and Sindbad oil fields in Iraq, a win that could boost future oil and gas output and support revenue growth. Halliburton Lands Key Iraq Oilfield Deal to Boost Production
• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target but kept a positive view on Halliburton, while RBC Capital reportedly initiated/assigned a Buy rating, signaling that analysts still see upside in the stock. Halliburton (HAL) Gets a Buy from RBC Capital
• Positive Sentiment: UBS lifted its price target on Halliburton, even while maintaining a Neutral rating, which suggests improved expectations for the company’s shares. UBS Lifts Price Target on Halliburton (HAL), Reaffirms Neutral Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with a Peer Perform rating, indicating a more balanced outlook rather than a strong bullish or bearish call. Wolfe Research bullish on SLB and BKR, sees selective oil services cycle ahead
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary also notes Halliburton faces a “key earnings test,” suggesting investors are still waiting for confirmation that the business momentum can translate into stronger financial results. Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Faces A Key Earnings Test

Halliburton Stock Performance

NYSE HAL traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $34.70. 7,652,921 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,124,398. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $20.17 and a 52 week high of $43.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.94.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Halliburton will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 37.36%.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, offering a broad portfolio that supports the lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs from exploration and drilling through production and abandonment. Founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton as an oil-well cementing company, the firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has developed into an integrated oilfield services company serving upstream operators globally.

The company’s activities encompass drilling and evaluation, well construction and completion, production enhancement and well intervention.