Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) Short Interest Up 23.6% in January

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 32,525,256 shares, an increase of 23.6% from the December 31st total of 26,321,090 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 18,015,354 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 18,015,354 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Halliburton Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of HAL stock opened at $33.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.03 and a 200 day moving average of $25.91. 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 has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $35.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HAL shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Zephirin Group cut Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded Halliburton to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $3,225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,538,550. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Richard sold 160,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total transaction of $4,443,200.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 452,374 shares in the company, valued at $12,562,425.98. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 497,002 shares of company stock valued at $15,889,138 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.