Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) shares gapped down before the market opened 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 trading hands.

Key Headlines Impacting Halliburton

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on HAL shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Halliburton from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Capital One Financial boosted their target price on Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Griffin Securities raised shares of Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nineteen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.27.

Halliburton Trading Down 5.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.38.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 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 for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In related news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,330,382.80. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 93,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. This represents a 17.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HAL. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.