Renaissance Investment Group LLC Sells 20,679 Shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)

Key Points

• Renaissance Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in Halliburton by 15.0%, selling 20,679 shares and ending up with 117,383 shares worth approximately $2.98 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their investments in Halliburton, with LPL Financial LLC boosting its holdings by 36.1% to own over 641,000 shares, valued at more than $17 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Halliburton's stock, with current ratings showing a consensus average of “Moderate Buy” and a price target of $31.00 despite recent price reductions from multiple firms.

Renaissance Investment Group LLC lowered its stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 15.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,383 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 20,679 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group LLC's holdings in Halliburton were worth $2,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HAL. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 87.4% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 830.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,047 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Halliburton in the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAL traded down $0.79 on Friday, reaching $21.62. 10,804,891 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,928,597. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.41 and a 200-day moving average of $23.11. Halliburton Company has a twelve month low of $18.72 and a twelve month high of $32.81. The company has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.55. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 8.37% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HAL has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Halliburton from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Halliburton to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Halliburton from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Halliburton from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Halliburton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.