Weiss Asset Management LP Takes Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Weiss Asset Management LP initiated a new position in Halliburton during the first quarter, buying 538,940 shares valued at about $21.0 million.
• Halliburton reported Q2 earnings and revenue ahead of expectations, posting EPS of $0.55 on revenue of $5.71 billion, while also seeing revenue rise 3.7% year over year.
• The company continues to attract attention from investors and analysts, with new international contract wins in Iraq and Kuwait and a Wall Street consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $43.14.

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 538,940 shares of the oilfield services company's stock, valued at approximately $21,013,000. Weiss Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.06% of Halliburton as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HAL. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Halliburton by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,794 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Halliburton by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,456 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,320 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,363 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $33.31 on Friday. Halliburton Company has a 1-year low of $20.39 and a 1-year high of $43.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.45. The stock has a market cap of $27.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The company had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Halliburton's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.60%.

Key Headlines Impacting Halliburton

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton reported Q2 revenue of $5.71 billion and EPS of $0.55, both modestly ahead of expectations, reinforcing that core business performance remains solid. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company won a new integrated field development contract with Basra Oil Company in Iraq, adding another large international project and expanding its presence in a key oil-producing region. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton also secured additional development work in Kuwait, reinforcing the view that recent contract wins are improving its growth outlook and supporting its international business mix. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces pointed to a stronger long-term outlook thanks to Halliburton’s technology edge and global contract pipeline, but also noted that geopolitical risk and uneven execution could limit near-term upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen reportedly lowered expectations for Halliburton, and other firms trimmed price targets, suggesting analysts remain cautious even as the stock benefits from new business wins.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts and mixed sentiment may cap enthusiasm if investors worry that recent contract wins are not enough to quickly reaccelerate margins or earnings growth.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on HAL shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Griffin Securities raised shares of Halliburton from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $363,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,064,992. The trade was a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,250 shares in the company, valued at $636,230. The trade was a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HAL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report).

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.