Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. Boosts Stake in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Adams Natural Resources Fund increased its Halliburton stake by 25.3% in the first quarter, buying 69,700 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 344,853 shares worth about $13.4 million.
• Halliburton reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share versus the $0.50 estimate, with revenue of $5.40 billion slightly above forecasts. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $43.27.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.0%, while insiders have recently sold shares, including CFO Eric Carre’s June sale under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. boosted its position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 25.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 344,853 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after buying an additional 69,700 shares during the period. Halliburton makes up about 1.6% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings in Halliburton were worth $13,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

HAL opened at $34.09 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.34 and a 200 day moving average of $35.64. Halliburton Company has a 52-week low of $20.09 and a 52-week high of $43.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $28.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.69.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Halliburton's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HAL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus raised their price objective on Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.27.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,330,382.80. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $852,377.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at $3,927,732.07. This represents a 17.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HAL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.