Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $35.61 and last traded at $35.1830, with a volume of 1558238 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.77.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HAL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upped their price target on Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Halliburton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.95.

Halliburton Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.82. The firm has a market cap of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $5,985,152.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,101,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,499,455.28. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,938. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Halliburton by 39.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,341 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after buying an additional 20,583 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Halliburton by 25.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 10,408 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Halliburton by 309.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 52,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the first quarter worth approximately $895,000. 85.23% of the stock is 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.