Investors Buy High Volume of Halliburton Call Options (NYSE:HAL)

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 25,477 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 45% compared to the average daily volume of 17,623 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,330,382.80. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 118,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,166,235.70. This trade represents a 30.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Halliburton by 10.2% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,794 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,456 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Carlson Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Halliburton by 2.7% during the second quarter. Carlson Financial Inc. now owns 11,278 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 17,348 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:HAL traded up $0.79 on Friday, hitting $36.28. 5,700,976 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,527,994. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $21.40 and a 1-year high of $43.59. The company has a market capitalization of $30.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.79 and its 200 day moving average is $36.54.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Argus lowered their price objective on Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Halliburton from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eighteen equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.10.

About Halliburton

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.