Allstate Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its Halliburton stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 115.7% to 65,147 shares worth about $1.84 million.
• Halliburton has drawn continued analyst support, with firms like Evercore, Barclays, and TD Cowen raising price targets; the consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $43.05.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.55 versus the $0.50 estimate, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share.

Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 115.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,147 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,943 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Halliburton were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Halliburton by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 19,548 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Halliburton by 101.6% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 14,039 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 7,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Key Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore raised Halliburton’s price target to $46 from $42 and kept an “outperform” rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in the stock’s upside potential. Evercore adjusts price target on Halliburton
• Neutral Sentiment: Noble appointed Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller as a director, which may slightly improve Halliburton’s industry visibility but does not appear to be a major direct catalyst for the stock. Noble appoints Halliburton CEO as director
• Negative Sentiment: Halliburton fell alongside other oilfield services names after WTI crude prices retreated on easing U.S.-Iran tensions and hopes for reduced disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which could dampen near-term energy-sector spending. Why Halliburton stock is falling today

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $363,510.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,064,992. This trade represents a 10.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total value of $8,189,830.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,036,019.94. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 420,837 shares of company stock worth $16,979,135. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.7%

HAL opened at $39.33 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $39.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.07. The company has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.73. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $19.44 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.

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

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Halliburton from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays raised Halliburton from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $37.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Halliburton from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note 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, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.05.

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.

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