Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 15.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,683,736 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after buying an additional 351,166 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.32% of Halliburton worth $66,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Halliburton by 7.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 6,507 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Halliburton by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,341 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after acquiring an additional 20,583 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Halliburton by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 10,408 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Halliburton by 309.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 52,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $895,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Trading Up 2.0%

HAL opened at $35.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.73. Halliburton Company has a one year low of $18.72 and a one year high of $37.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.24.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. The trade was a 13.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at $13,538,550. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 331,994 shares of company stock worth $11,331,187. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HAL. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price target on Halliburton in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Argus boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.38.

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.