Creative Planning, a wealth management firm in the United States, has recently increased its share of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 6.5%. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Creative Planning now owns 107,310 shares of the oilfield services company’s stocks worth $4,223,000 as of its latest filing. The move comes after Halliburton reported an impressive first-quarter earnings report on April 25th.
In that report, Halliburton noted $0.72 earnings per share during the quarter; toppling market expectations of $0.67 by an impressive margin of 0.05 cents. The company also reported a year-over-year increase in revenue of 32.5%, bringing their total quarterly revenue to $5.68 billion – exceeding analyst predictions of $5.49 billion.
While this news may seem positive for current shareholders like Creative Planning, recent insider trading activity within Halliburton may cause hesitation among potential investors or warrant additional considerations for wealth managers like Creative Planning.
On May 8th, CAO Charles Jr. Geer sold over twelve-thousand shares in a transaction totaling over three-hundred-sixty-nine thousand dollars – averaging out at around thirty-dollars per share sold. CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller was also active on the same day and sold over two-hundred-seventy-one-thousand shares totaling over eight-million dollars at approximately thirty-dollars per share sold,
Though it is not uncommon for insiders to sell their shares due to personal reasons like tax obligations or investment into other industries; investors are encouraged to take note of such activities as a part of their due diligence before investing into any companies’ stock options.
Overall, Halliburton’s recent performance paint an optimistic picture for both current and potential investors while taking into account insider trading reports can help wealth managers to best advise their clients on investments into this particular interest or if it’s worth keeping a close eye on Halliburton’s stock option activity in the long-term.
[bs_slider_forecast ticker=”HAL”]
Halliburton sees boost in shareholder interest despite testing times
Halliburton, the oilfield services company based in Houston, Texas, has seen a boost in its stock’s value as several institutional investors and hedge funds have increased their holdings in the company. American International Group Inc., for example, has recently boosted its stake by 6.6% to hold 265,536 shares worth $10.5mn while Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 38,971 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1.5m after buying an additional 1,128 shares during Q4 2017. The uptick in interest from shareholders will provide positive reinforcement for Halliburton as it faces testing times with a current ratio of just over two and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.
Despite recent shareholder positivity, Haliburton’s stock opened at $28.72 on Thursday; its 12-month low is $23.30 and its high is $43.99 with a market capitalization of just under $26bn.
In news that could affect investor confidence and share price performance in the long-term, the Securities & Exchange Commission announced on June 1st that CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller had sold over 270k shares of the firm’s stock at an average price of $30.25 netting himself more than $8m.
While some analysts remain bullish – Benchmark has reiterated its buy rating and issued a target price of $50 – others such as Citigroup have lowered their target to buy rating from $47 to $44 citing weakness across North America seismic data demand as cause for caution.
Shareholders can take some comfort from the announcement that Halliburton will pay a quarterly dividend due to be paid on Wednesday June 28th. Shareholders holding stock on or before June 7th will receive a payment of $0.16 per share equating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.23%. Despite this positive news, Halliburton’s payout ratio currently stands at just under 30%.
