Eric Carre Sells 24,778 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Stock

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Halliburton Stock Down 0.2%

Halliburton stock opened at $35.11 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.56. The company has a market cap of $29.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Halliburton Company has a 1-year low of $20.09 and a 1-year high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd 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 is Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Company Profile

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.