AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $16 Million Stock Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 650,295 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 481,300 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.08% of Halliburton worth $15,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Halliburton by 547.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 111.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Halliburton

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venezuela asset-auction halt clears a path for Halliburton to potentially restart U.S. oil operations there — a direct revenue/capacity catalyst if activity resumes. Halliburton’s Asset Sale Halt Paves Way for Venezuela Restart
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options activity: traders bought ~85,510 call contracts (about +215% vs. typical daily call volume). Heavy call buying signals short-term bullish positioning and could amplify upside if buying continues.
• Positive Sentiment: Energy-sector upside from Middle East tensions favors oilfield services companies; MarketBeat highlights Halliburton as positioned for an upstream rebound and cites institutional buying as supportive. 3 Targeted Oil Plays as the Iran Crisis Lifts Crude
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive — brokerages give HAL an average “Moderate Buy” recommendation, which supports further interest from institutional investors. Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: broader energy-stock rallies tied to geopolitical risk are lifting sentiment for service providers, but gains may be uneven and tied to the duration of the supply disruption.
• Negative Sentiment: New U.S. income-tax disclosure rules force greater transparency on offshore tax practices; a report highlights Halliburton’s past offshore arrangements — potential reputational, compliance or restatement risks could pressure the stock. New Income Tax Disclosure Rules Mean Halliburton Can No Longer Conceal Its Offshore Tax Avoidance

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on HAL shares. Zephirin Group lowered Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Halliburton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.19.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In related news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total value of $88,842.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,043 shares in the company, valued at $479,849.31. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $5,985,152.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,101,243 shares in the company, valued at $38,499,455.28. The trade was a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 337,002 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,938. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of HAL opened at $35.29 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $29.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.77. Halliburton Company has a 52-week low of $18.72 and a 52-week high of $37.03.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

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

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.