Qsemble Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 164,094 Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Qsemble Capital Management opened a new position in Halliburton, buying 164,094 shares valued at about $4.64 million in the fourth quarter.
• Halliburton reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.55 versus estimates of $0.50 and revenue of $5.40 billion, slightly above forecasts.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock: Halliburton has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $42.45, while several firms recently raised targets or upgraded the shares.

Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 164,094 shares of the oilfield services company's stock, valued at approximately $4,637,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $41.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.12. The firm has a market cap of $34.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.73. Halliburton Company has a 12-month low of $19.38 and a 12-month high of $42.46.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during 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%. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Halliburton's payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Halliburton news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $852,377.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at $3,927,732.07. The trade was a 17.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 transaction of $363,510.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 72,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,064,992. The trade was a 10.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 222,488 shares of company stock valued at $8,789,305 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on HAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Griffin Securities raised shares of Halliburton from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Halliburton from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.45.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.