Halliburton Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HAL)

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 24,208 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 45% compared to the typical volume of 16,693 put options.

Halliburton Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE HAL traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $38.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,377,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,147,902. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $27.84 and a 52 week high of $43.85. The company has a market capitalization of $34.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $37.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.39.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. Halliburton had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 31.59%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HAL shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on Halliburton from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Halliburton from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Halliburton from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halliburton news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $176,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $339,762.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Halliburton news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $176,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $339,762.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $13,308,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 759,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,793,229.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Halliburton by 443.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.