AIA Group Ltd Sells 43,636 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• AIA Group cut its Halliburton stake by 38.9% in the third quarter, selling 43,636 shares; it retained 68,579 shares valued at about $2.18 million.
• Halliburton beat quarterly forecasts, reporting EPS of $0.60 versus $0.58 expected and revenue of $5.70 billion versus $5.58 billion expected; revenue rose 1.8% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $43.86. The company pays a $0.17 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.1% annual yield.

AIA Group Ltd decreased its position in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 38.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,579 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 43,636 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Halliburton were worth $2,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $33.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.76. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $24.92 and a 52 week high of $43.59. The stock has a market cap of $27.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.76.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The oilfield services company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.36% and a net margin of 8.90%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HAL. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Halliburton from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Halliburton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Halliburton from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 118,730 shares in the company, valued at $4,166,235.70. This represents a 30.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Halliburton Profile

Halliburton Company NYSE: HAL is a global provider of products and services for the energy industry. The company supports the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas through technologies and services used throughout the life cycle of a well.

Halliburton operates through two primary business segments: Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. Its offerings include cementing, stimulation, well completion, production enhancement, drilling services, drilling fluids, well testing, wireline and perforating services, formation evaluation, and project management.

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