Nicholas Investment Partners LP Invests $4.25 Million in Halliburton Company $HAL

Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 125,217 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,251,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Halliburton by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,794 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Halliburton by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,456 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,320 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,363 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $34.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Halliburton Company has a 12-month low of $21.40 and a 12-month high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is 35.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HAL. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $1,844,751.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 118,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,166,235.70. The trade was a 30.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.57% 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.