Insider Selling: Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) EVP Sells $3,225,000.00 in Stock

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) EVP Lawrence Pope sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Halliburton Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $32.13 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.78. Halliburton Company has a 52-week low of $18.72 and a 52-week high of $33.03. 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 results on Tuesday, October 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.03%.

Institutional Trading of Halliburton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HAL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a report on Monday, December 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Halliburton in a report on Monday, November 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.71.

More Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: White House meeting fuels rebuild narrative — Top oil companies are meeting with President Trump to discuss rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry, a development investors see as a multiyear capex opportunity for oilfield services providers like Halliburton. Trump to Meet With Chevron and Other Oil Companies on Venezuela. What We Know.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target lift — TD Cowen raised its price target to $39 and keeps a buy stance, highlighting upside if the Venezuela story and broader services demand persist. Benzinga: TD Cowen price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Media and TV attention — CNBC/TV and columnists (e.g., Jim Cramer) have singled out Halliburton as a speculative play on Venezuela reconstruction, which is boosting retail and options flows. Jim Cramer Highlights Halliburton as a Speculative Venezuela Rebuild Play
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large option/open interest activity — Elevated call buying and heightened volume suggest speculative conviction that the Venezuela narrative can drive further near‑term gains. Halliburton Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HAL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Bessent warns big oil may move slowly — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the largest oil majors are likely to act cautiously on Venezuela, implying smaller/independent firms could move faster; this moderates the timeline for big capex wins. Bessent says largest oil companies are likely to move slower in Venezuela
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst stance — Some outlets (Seeking Alpha) maintain a Hold and others publish longer‑term valuation arguments (P/E expansion case), so professional views are still split between tactical opportunity and measured caution. Halliburton: Keeping An Eye On Venezuela, But Maintaining Our Previous Rating – Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore downgrade / mixed analyst notes — Evercore downgraded HAL to “in-line” (while raising its price target), a signal that exposure and risk profile concerns are capping enthusiasm and can trigger selling. Evercore ISI downgrade reporting
• Negative Sentiment: Companies seek guarantees / regulatory risk — FT/Reuters coverage says U.S. oil firms want guarantees from Washington before large Venezuela investments, adding policy and legal friction to any near‑term capital deployment. US oil companies say they need guarantees to invest in Venezuela, FT reports
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and profit taking — An EVP sold 100,000 shares recently and some coverage notes the stock pushed into overbought territory, both of which can amplify short‑term pullbacks. SEC filing – Insider Sale (Lawrence J. Pope)

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.