Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $22.66 and last traded at $22.83, with a volume of 6027741 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lowered Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Griffin Securities downgraded Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.37.

Halliburton Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value of $3,689,712.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,101 shares in the company, valued at $3,321,149.13. The trade was a 52.63 % 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, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 10,497 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total value of $258,226.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 77,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,486.40. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 206,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,321,170 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halliburton

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 71,797 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 23,340 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 278,934 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $7,584,000 after purchasing an additional 42,876 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,257,250 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $61,375,000 after purchasing an additional 80,567 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth about $621,000. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its stake in Halliburton by 180.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 43,675 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 28,125 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Halliburton

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.