First Trust Advisors LP Buys 198,213 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,452,132 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after buying an additional 198,213 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.17% of Halliburton worth $35,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HUB Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management grew its stake in Halliburton by 2.6% in the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 56,898 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC grew its stake in Halliburton by 36.8% in the third quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 21,018 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 5,651 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 33.6% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,866 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 3,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter worth approximately $2,091,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $34.87 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.34. Halliburton Company has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $37.03.

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. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total value of $88,842.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $3,225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 331,994 shares of company stock worth $11,331,187. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zephirin Group cut Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Halliburton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.38.

Halliburton 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.