Holocene Advisors LP Acquires Shares of 5,988,407 Halliburton Company $HAL

Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,988,407 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,315,000. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.71% of Halliburton at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Halliburton by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 91,030,451 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,239,349,000 after acquiring an additional 40,969,139 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at $418,738,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at $109,379,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 85.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,610,870 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $175,490,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969,759 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 163.8% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 4,992,111 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $122,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,037 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Stock Performance

HAL opened at $33.70 on Monday. Halliburton Company has a twelve month low of $18.72 and a twelve month high of $37.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.73. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.50.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.03%.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $132,187.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 81,631 shares in the company, valued at $2,805,657.47. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 344,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 331,994 shares of company stock valued at $11,331,187 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.38.

About Halliburton

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.