Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $35.11, but opened at $33.33. Halliburton shares last traded at $32.9380, with a volume of 6,301,539 shares traded.

More Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton beat Q2 estimates, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.55 on revenue of $5.71 billion, both modestly above Wall Street expectations, while revenue rose 3.7% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Results showed strength in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Africa, and the company also announced a new Iraq contract to support development of the Bin Umar and Sindbad fields, which could support future activity. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple pre-earnings reports framed the release as a key read on global oilfield demand, with analysts expecting about $0.54 EPS and $5.5 billion in revenue. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are under pressure because Middle East revenue fell about 10% as the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupted operations in Kuwait, Iraq, and Qatar, overshadowing the earnings beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear concerned that the war-related slowdown could weigh on near-term results across Halliburton’s international operations, despite stronger demand elsewhere. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zephirin Group lifted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Halliburton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.27.

Halliburton Stock Down 5.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.71.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. Halliburton’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total transaction of $8,189,830.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares in the company, valued at $6,036,019.94. This represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $363,510.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares in the company, valued at $3,064,992. This trade represents a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 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.