Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) VP Sells $132,187.02 in Stock

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total transaction of $132,187.02. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 81,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,805,657.47. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Halliburton Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $35.93 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $30.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.29. 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 Company has a fifty-two week low of $18.72 and a fifty-two week high of $37.03.

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

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is 45.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HAL. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

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.