Bank of Nova Scotia Has $89.08 Million Holdings in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its Halliburton stake by 128.8% in the first quarter, ending with 2.28 million shares valued at about $89.1 million.
• Halliburton recently reported better-than-expected Q2 results, with EPS of $0.55 and revenue of $5.71 billion, helped by strong international demand and margin expansion.
• The company is also seeing mixed signals from the market: it won new contracts in Iraq and Kuwait, but some analysts cut price targets and the stock has faced caution over its outlook and Middle East recovery.

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 128.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,284,612 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,286,095 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.27% of Halliburton worth $89,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter worth $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton won a new contract with Basra Oil Company to provide integrated field management, digital solutions, and EPCM services in southern Iraq, adding another large-scale international project to its backlog. Halliburton (HAL) Lands Iraq Field Development Contract With Basra Oil Company
• Positive Sentiment: The company also secured a multi-year agreement with Kuwait Oil Company to support the Ahmadi Innovation Valley, reinforcing Halliburton’s international growth story and technology-led strategy. Halliburton's Outlook Improves as New Awards Build Momentum After Flat Q2, RBC Says
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results topped expectations, with revenue of $5.71 billion and EPS of $0.55, while international revenue hit a 10-year high and margins expanded, which supports confidence in earnings resilience. Halliburton Tops Estimates as International Demand Strengthens
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokerages lowered price targets after the earnings release, but most kept bullish ratings, suggesting analysts still see upside despite a more cautious valuation view. These Analysts Cut Their Forecasts On Halliburton Following Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s post-earnings outlook was described as tepid by some coverage, with warnings about a slower Middle East recovery and uneven execution tempering enthusiasm. Halliburton tumbles on tepid revenue forecast, Middle East recovery warning

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Halliburton from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised shares of Halliburton from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Halliburton from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Halliburton from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.14.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In related news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $363,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares in the company, valued at $3,064,992. The trade was a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,382.80. This represents a 14.30% 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. Insiders have sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535 in the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Halliburton Price Performance

HAL stock opened at $32.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.11 and a 200-day moving average of $36.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.71. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $20.39 and a 12 month high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.36%.

About Halliburton

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.