Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Takes Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 41,054 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,010,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Halliburton by 22.2% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,369 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 51,508 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 7,374 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Halliburton by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 16,390 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Halliburton by 2.6% in the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 22,307 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:HAL opened at $33.95 on Friday. Halliburton Company has a 12-month low of $18.72 and a 12-month high of $35.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.55. The firm has a market cap of $28.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.77.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. Halliburton’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HAL. Zacks Research raised Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Halliburton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total value of $88,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $479,849.31. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,044,943.60. The trade was a 13.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.