Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $119 Million Stock Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors reduced its Halliburton stake by 20.2% in the first quarter, selling 774,449 shares but retaining approximately 3.05 million shares worth $119 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.23% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with 18 Buy ratings, six Holds and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $43.10.
• Halliburton exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.55 in earnings per share and $5.71 billion in revenue, while paying a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share. However, a soft third-quarter outlook has raised concerns about near-term oilfield-services demand and weighed on the stock.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 20.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,052,183 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 774,449 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.37% of Halliburton worth $119,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its stake 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HAL shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Halliburton from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Argus dropped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Halliburton from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Halliburton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.10.

Halliburton Stock Performance

HAL opened at $32.22 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.71. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.60%.

Halliburton News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Beetaloo Energy to support a proposed gas-to-power project linked to an artificial-intelligence data center in Australia’s Northern Territory. The opportunity could create future work in drilling, production and energy infrastructure, although it is not yet a firm contract. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation for HAL, offering some support after the stock’s recent weakness. Halliburton consensus recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Halliburton stock rose in the latest session but continued to underperform the broader market, indicating that investors remain cautious despite the recent bounce. MarketWatch stock performance article
• Negative Sentiment: UBS said Halliburton’s soft third-quarter guidance is weighing on the stock. The cautious outlook raises concerns about weaker oilfield-services demand, pricing or international activity in the near term. UBS Halliburton outlook article

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halliburton news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 146,186 shares in the company, valued at $6,036,019.94. The trade was a 57.57% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 243,475 shares of company stock worth $9,931,490 in the last ninety days. 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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