Halliburton Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HAL)

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 24,341 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 52% compared to the average volume of 16,048 call options.

Halliburton Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Halliburton stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $31.93. The company had a trading volume of 3,595,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,195,067. The company has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $34.10 and its 200-day moving average is $36.54. 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 fifty-two week low of $21.46 and a fifty-two week high of $43.59.

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

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HAL shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Halliburton from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on Halliburton from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Halliburton from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Argus cut their target price on Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.24.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 10.2% in the 1st 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. lifted its stake in 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. boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 2.7% in 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 during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 2.0% in the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 17,348 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Halliburton by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,320 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

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.