Ardsley Advisory Partners LP Takes $2.83 Million Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Ardsley Advisory Partners disclosed a new position in Halliburton, buying 100,000 shares valued at about $2.83 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 85.23% of Halliburton stock held by hedge funds and other institutions, while several large investors also increased their stakes.
• Analysts remain largely bullish on HAL: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, and the average price target is $43.27, above its recent trading level around $36.23.

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP bought a new stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 100,000 shares of the oilfield services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,826,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Halliburton by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 110,220,971 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $3,114,848,000 after acquiring an additional 19,190,520 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Halliburton by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 50,825,761 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,436,336,000 after acquiring an additional 861,964 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Halliburton by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,097,164 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $878,806,000 after acquiring an additional 443,064 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Halliburton by 82,596.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $841,339,000 after acquiring an additional 29,735,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in Halliburton by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 26,004,682 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $639,715,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238,983 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on HAL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Argus increased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.27.

Halliburton Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $36.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.08. Halliburton Company has a 1-year low of $20.09 and a 1-year high of $43.59. The company's fifty day moving average is $39.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 93,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,927,732.07. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,230. This trade represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 391,932 shares of company stock worth $15,999,453. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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