SIR Capital Management L.P. Sells 405,300 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• SIR Capital Management sharply cut its Halliburton position in the fourth quarter, selling 405,300 shares and reducing its stake by 81.8% to 90,000 shares worth about $2.54 million.
• Halliburton reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.55 per share on revenue of $5.40 billion, slightly topping analyst estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, while Wall Street remains generally constructive on the stock with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.27.

SIR Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 81.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,000 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 405,300 shares during the period. SIR Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Halliburton were worth $2,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Halliburton by 81.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 91,030,451 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $2,239,349,000 after buying an additional 40,969,139 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Halliburton by 82,596.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $841,339,000 after purchasing an additional 29,735,387 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at about $418,738,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at about $169,304,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $147,315,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $39.52 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $39.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Halliburton Company has a 1-year low of $20.09 and a 1-year high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The company's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is 37.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus boosted their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore upped their target price on Halliburton from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on Halliburton from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Halliburton from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Halliburton has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.27.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at $3,927,732.07. This represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,036,019.94. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 416,991 shares of company stock worth $16,846,948 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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