Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $33.03 and last traded at $31.7980, with a volume of 1325911 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Halliburton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Halliburton from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $28.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Halliburton in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.71.

Halliburton Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.87 and a 200 day moving average of $24.52.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08. Halliburton had a return on equity of 20.12% and a net margin of 5.91%.The business had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 8,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.89, for a total transaction of $246,938.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 333,528 shares in the company, valued at $9,302,095.92. This trade represents a 2.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Richard sold 160,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $4,443,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 452,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,562,425.98. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 268,854 shares of company stock worth $7,915,138 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 7.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Halliburton by 39.0% in the 1st 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 grew its holdings in Halliburton by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 10,408 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Halliburton by 309.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 52,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the first quarter worth $369,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.