First Trust Advisors LP Sells 44,133 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,263,598 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 44,133 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.15% of Halliburton worth $49,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Halliburton in the third quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton in the second quarter worth $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its stake in Halliburton by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE HAL opened at $33.31 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $20.39 and a 52 week high of $43.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.48.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.60%.

Halliburton News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton reported Q2 revenue of $5.71 billion and EPS of $0.55, both modestly ahead of expectations, reinforcing that core business performance remains solid. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company won a new integrated field development contract with Basra Oil Company in Iraq, adding another large international project and expanding its presence in a key oil-producing region. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton also secured additional development work in Kuwait, reinforcing the view that recent contract wins are improving its growth outlook and supporting its international business mix. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces pointed to a stronger long-term outlook thanks to Halliburton’s technology edge and global contract pipeline, but also noted that geopolitical risk and uneven execution could limit near-term upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen reportedly lowered expectations for Halliburton, and other firms trimmed price targets, suggesting analysts remain cautious even as the stock benefits from new business wins.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts and mixed sentiment may cap enthusiasm if investors worry that recent contract wins are not enough to quickly reaccelerate margins or earnings growth.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total transaction of $8,189,830.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,036,019.94. This represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total value of $255,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,230. The trade was a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Capital One Financial increased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Halliburton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.14.

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.