Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) experienced a notable surge in options trading on Monday, with investors purchasing 37,290 call options. This represents an increase of approximately 27% compared to the average daily volume of 29,456 call options. The spike in trading activity comes amid recent upgrades from several equities analysts, further indicating a positive outlook for the company.
Analyst Upgrades and Market Sentiment
Recent evaluations by analysts have contributed to heightened investor interest in Halliburton. On November 3, 2023, Redburn Partners set a price target of $35.00 for Halliburton, issuing a “buy” rating. This upgrade was echoed by Rothschild & Co, which initiated coverage with the same target price and rating. On October 22, 2023, Stifel Nicolaus established a target price of $32.00 for Halliburton shares.
Additionally, in a report dated December 16, 2023, Barclays raised its price objective on Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00, maintaining an “equal weight” rating. The consensus among analysts shows that two have rated the stock as a “Strong Buy,” while fifteen have issued a “Buy” rating, and six have given it a “Hold” rating. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton currently holds an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a price target of $32.05.
Financial Performance and Dividend Announcements
On October 21, 2023, Halliburton released its quarterly earnings results, reporting earnings per share of $0.58, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. The company’s revenue for the quarter reached $5.60 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $5.39 billion. Halliburton’s net margin stood at 5.91%, with a return on equity of 20.12%. Year-over-year, quarterly revenue saw a decline of 1.7%, down from $0.73 earnings per share reported in the same quarter the previous year. Analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post an EPS of 2.64 for the current fiscal year.
The company also announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on December 24, 2023. Stockholders of record on December 3, 2023 received a dividend of $0.17 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.68 and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Halliburton’s payout ratio currently stands at 45.03%.
Insider Transactions and Institutional Holdings
In related news, insider Mark Richard sold 160,000 shares of Halliburton on November 12, 2023, at an average price of $27.77, generating a total of $4,443,200.00. Following this transaction, Richard retained 452,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,562,425.98. This sale represents a 26.13% decrease in his ownership of the stock. Furthermore, Van H. Beckwith, Executive Vice President, sold 8,854 shares on December 5, 2023 for a total of $246,938.06.
Institutional investors have also been active in the stock, with several hedge funds increasing their stakes in Halliburton. For instance, Vident Advisory LLC raised its position by 66.4%, now owning 21,588 shares valued at $548,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings by 58.5%, owning 18,515 shares valued at $470,000. Overall, institutional investors control approximately 85.23% of Halliburton’s stock.
Founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton as an oil-well cementing company, Halliburton is now one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the firm supports the lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs, providing services from exploration and drilling to production and abandonment.
