Alps Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 20,510 Halliburton Company $HAL

Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,510 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HAL. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter worth $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter worth $32,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Halliburton by 547.3% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 111.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HAL opened at $34.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.13 and its 200-day moving average is $26.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Halliburton Company has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $35.55.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HAL. HSBC set a $30.00 target price on shares of Halliburton and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total transaction of $88,842.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,938. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.