Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 35,846 Halliburton call options on Wednesday, about 73% above the average call volume. That suggests a notable rise in bullish betting on the stock.
• Business and analyst backdrop remains positive: Halliburton recently won a key integrated contract in Iraq and has continued to receive mostly favorable analyst attention, including multiple raised price targets and several Buy ratings. The stock still carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $43.18.
• Fundamentals and shareholder actions: Halliburton beat quarterly earnings expectations with $0.55 EPS on $5.40 billion in revenue, and it recently paid a $0.17 quarterly dividend yielding about 2.0%. However, insiders have been selling shares, including the EVP and CFO in recent transactions.

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 35,846 call options on the company. This is an increase of 73% compared to the average volume of 20,771 call options.

Key Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton landed a key integrated contract to develop the Bin Umar and Sindbad oil fields in Iraq, a win that could boost future oil and gas output and support revenue growth. Halliburton Lands Key Iraq Oilfield Deal to Boost Production
• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target but kept a positive view on Halliburton, while RBC Capital reportedly initiated/assigned a Buy rating, signaling that analysts still see upside in the stock. Halliburton (HAL) Gets a Buy from RBC Capital
• Positive Sentiment: UBS lifted its price target on Halliburton, even while maintaining a Neutral rating, which suggests improved expectations for the company’s shares. UBS Lifts Price Target on Halliburton (HAL), Reaffirms Neutral Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with a Peer Perform rating, indicating a more balanced outlook rather than a strong bullish or bearish call. Wolfe Research bullish on SLB and BKR, sees selective oil services cycle ahead
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary also notes Halliburton faces a “key earnings test,” suggesting investors are still waiting for confirmation that the business momentum can translate into stronger financial results. Halliburton NYSE: HAL Faces A Key Earnings Test

Halliburton Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of HAL traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.70. The company had a trading volume of 7,652,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,124,398. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.08. The company has a market capitalization of $28.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.94. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $20.17 and a 52 week high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's payout ratio is currently 37.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Halliburton from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore lifted their price target on Halliburton from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Griffin Securities upgraded Halliburton from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total transaction of $8,189,830.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,036,019.94. The trade was a 57.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,382.80. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its position in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC bought a new position in Halliburton in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 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.

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