Brandes Investment Partners LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Brandes Investment Partners increased its Halliburton stake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 102,005 shares and bringing its total holding to 7,548,930 shares valued at about $213.3 million.
• Halliburton beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $0.55 EPS versus the $0.50 consensus and revenue of $5.40 billion, slightly ahead of estimates.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms raising price targets and Halliburton carrying a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $43.27.

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,548,930 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after purchasing an additional 102,005 shares during the period. Halliburton accounts for about 1.6% of Brandes Investment Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.90% of Halliburton worth $213,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 91,030,451 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $2,239,349,000 after buying an additional 40,969,139 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 82,596.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $841,339,000 after buying an additional 29,735,387 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $418,738,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $169,304,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $147,315,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HAL opened at $39.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $20.09 and a 12 month high of $43.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.80. The stock has a market cap of $33.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 1.75 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 net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HAL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays raised shares of Halliburton from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 158,455 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $6,338,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,013,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,521,080. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $363,510.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,064,992. This trade represents a 10.60% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 416,991 shares of company stock worth $16,846,948. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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