Halliburton Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HAL)

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 60,029 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 83% compared to the typical daily volume of 32,811 call options.

Key Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on top and bottom lines — Halliburton reported adjusted EPS of $0.69 vs. ~ $0.54 consensus and revenue of ~$5.66–5.7B, led by international strength, which drove the initial rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cash flow and shareholder returns — company reported healthy operating/free cash flow and emphasized continued share buybacks and a >2% dividend, supporting total-return thesis. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lift targets/ratings — multiple firms (Stifel, Capital One and others) raised price targets and maintained buy/overweight views, giving near-term upside support. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity — heavy call buying (about 60k calls, ~83% above normal) signals bullish speculative/institutional positioning around the print. (Market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: Management tone: strong 2025 execution but cautious on 2026 — the earnings call highlighted execution and tech initiatives but flagged moderation next year, so upside may require specific end‑market improvement. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Full call transcript and detail available for investors parsing segment/region drivers. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: North America softness and mixed profitability — North American revenue declined (reported ~7% regional drop) and some outlets noted profit slipped despite revenue gains, creating near-term execution risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and high payout ratio — some insiders have sold shares recently and the company deployed ~85% of free cash flow to returns, which can limit flexibility if markets worsen. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Venezuela opportunity discussed — media and previews noted potential re-entry opportunities that, if realized, could add an incremental international revenue tailwind. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on HAL. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $35.00 target price on Halliburton in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 8,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.89, for a total value of $246,938.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 333,528 shares in the company, valued at $9,302,095.92. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of Halliburton 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 directly owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at $13,538,550. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 268,854 shares of company stock valued at $7,915,138. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HAL. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Halliburton by 82.1% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 48,900 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 22,045 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter valued at $2,595,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,775,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 82.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 42,482 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 19,186 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Halliburton by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 539,079 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $11,132,000 after acquiring an additional 37,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

NYSE:HAL opened at $33.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.71 and its 200 day moving average is $25.14. Halliburton has a fifty-two week low of $18.72 and a fifty-two week high of $33.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.15. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is 45.03%.

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.