Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,040,000 shares, a growth of 31.9% from the February 28th total of 20,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 51,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $1,279,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,177,525. This trade represents a 28.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 3,900 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.04, for a total transaction of $93,756.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,551 shares in the company, valued at $253,646.04. This trade represents a 26.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 206,782 shares of company stock worth $5,321,170 over the last quarter. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Horrell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 101.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of Halliburton stock traded up $0.30 on Monday, reaching $25.37. 11,029,721 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,216,246. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.89 and its 200-day moving average is $27.93. Halliburton has a one year low of $23.42 and a one year high of $41.56.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 24.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Halliburton from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Halliburton from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Halliburton from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.37.

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.