Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 85,510 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 215% compared to the average daily volume of 27,159 call options.

Halliburton Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE HAL traded down $0.39 on Thursday, reaching $34.04. 15,345,411 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,483,730. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.82. Halliburton has a 12 month low of $18.72 and a 12 month high of $37.03. The company has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be 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 is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HAL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Halliburton from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other news, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $3,225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This represents a 19.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction of $1,900,006.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. The trade was a 13.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,938. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter worth $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its stake in Halliburton by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by 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.