North Dakota State Investment Board Takes Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Halliburton, buying 29,405 shares valued at about $831,000.
• Institutional interest in Halliburton remains high, with 85.23% of the stock owned by institutions and hedge funds; several firms also increased positions recently.
• Wall Street sentiment is mostly positive: multiple analysts raised targets, and Halliburton now has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $42.86.

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 29,405 shares of the oilfield services company's stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HAL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 7.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $2,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 39.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,341 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,861,000 after buying an additional 20,583 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 25.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 10,408 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 309.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 52,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the first quarter valued at $895,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HAL shares. Barclays raised shares of Halliburton from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $37.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Halliburton from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.86.

Insider Activity

In other Halliburton news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 158,455 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 420,837 shares of company stock valued at $16,979,135. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Halliburton Trading Down 1.7%

HAL stock opened at $42.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.49. Halliburton Company has a one year low of $19.38 and a one year high of $43.59. The stock has a market cap of $35.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.73.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The firm 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 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

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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