Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Decreases Stock Holdings in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors cut its Halliburton stake by 9.9% in Q1, selling 51,566 shares and leaving it with 471,730 shares valued at about $18.4 million.
• Halliburton reported Q2 results that slightly beat expectations, posting EPS of $0.55 on revenue of $5.71 billion, with revenue up 3.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautiously positive: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $43.14, while several executives and institutions have also been active sellers or buyers recently.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 471,730 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 51,566 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 0.06% of Halliburton worth $18,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Halliburton by 128.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,284,612 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $89,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,095 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,195,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $827,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 373,949 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $10,568,000 after acquiring an additional 67,369 shares during the period. Finally, K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 172.6% during the 4th quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 110,000 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 69,644 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of Halliburton 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 146,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,036,019.94. The trade was a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $363,510.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 72,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,064,992. The trade was 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 ninety days, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HAL. BMO Capital Markets set a $37.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Capital One Financial upped their price target on Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.14.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of HAL stock opened at $33.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71. 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's 50 day moving average is $36.94 and its 200 day moving average is $36.45. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 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 company had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Halliburton's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.60%.

Trending Headlines about Halliburton

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton reported Q2 revenue of $5.71 billion and EPS of $0.55, both modestly ahead of expectations, reinforcing that core business performance remains solid. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company won a new integrated field development contract with Basra Oil Company in Iraq, adding another large international project and expanding its presence in a key oil-producing region. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton also secured additional development work in Kuwait, reinforcing the view that recent contract wins are improving its growth outlook and supporting its international business mix. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces pointed to a stronger long-term outlook thanks to Halliburton’s technology edge and global contract pipeline, but also noted that geopolitical risk and uneven execution could limit near-term upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen reportedly lowered expectations for Halliburton, and other firms trimmed price targets, suggesting analysts remain cautious even as the stock benefits from new business wins.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts and mixed sentiment may cap enthusiasm if investors worry that recent contract wins are not enough to quickly reaccelerate margins or earnings growth.

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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