Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Stock Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management more than doubled its Halliburton stake in the second quarter, adding 70,267 shares to reach 136,889 shares valued at approximately $4.65 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.23% of HAL.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 18 Buy ratings, six Holds and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $43.10 versus the stock’s recent $37.33 price.
• Halliburton exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.55 in earnings per share on $5.71 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 3.7% year over year. The company also declared a $0.17 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.8% annualized yield.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 105.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,889 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after buying an additional 70,267 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Halliburton were worth $4,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter worth about $28,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Capital One Financial lifted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Halliburton from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Halliburton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.10.

Halliburton Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE HAL opened at $37.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02. The company has a market capitalization of $31.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.76. Halliburton Company has a one year low of $21.40 and a one year high of $43.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.63.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Halliburton's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Halliburton's payout ratio is 35.60%.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In related news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $1,844,751.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 118,730 shares in the company, valued at $4,166,235.70. The trade was a 30.69% 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. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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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