Halliburton Company $HAL Shares Purchased by Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.

Key Points

• Adams Natural Resources Fund increased its Halliburton stake by 73.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 116,800 additional shares and bringing its total to 275,153 shares worth about $7.8 million.
• Halliburton insiders sold shares recently, including EVP Van H. Beckwith and CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller, with total insider sales of 416,991 shares valued at roughly $16.8 million in the last quarter.
• Analysts remain generally positive on HAL, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target price of $43.27; the stock also recently reported earnings of $0.55 per share, beating estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. boosted its position in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 73.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275,153 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after acquiring an additional 116,800 shares during the period. Halliburton comprises approximately 1.2% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings in Halliburton were worth $7,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter worth $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total value of $8,189,830.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,036,019.94. This trade represents 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 this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value of $6,338,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,013,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,521,080. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 416,991 shares of company stock worth $16,846,948 in the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HAL. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Eighteen 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.27.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE HAL opened at $39.52 on Friday. Halliburton Company has a one year low of $20.09 and a one year high of $43.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 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 the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

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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