Canoe Financial LP Purchases Shares of 4,065,777 Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Canoe Financial LP opened a new position in Halliburton during the first quarter, buying 4,065,777 shares worth about $158.5 million. The stake represented about 2.2% of its portfolio and 0.49% of Halliburton.
• Halliburton reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with earnings of $0.55 per share versus estimates of $0.50 and revenue of $5.40 billion versus expectations of $5.37 billion. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $2.34 per share this year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, or $0.68 annually, for a yield of about 2.0%. Meanwhile, several analysts remain constructive, with Halliburton carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $43.27.

Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,065,777 shares of the oilfield services company's stock, valued at approximately $158,525,000. Halliburton makes up about 2.2% of Canoe Financial LP's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Canoe Financial LP owned 0.49% of Halliburton at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Halliburton in the third quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position in Halliburton by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Price Performance

HAL stock opened at $34.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $39.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.69. 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.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. Halliburton's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,036,019.94. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on HAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Halliburton from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Halliburton has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.27.

Halliburton 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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