WINTON GROUP Ltd Raises Holdings in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in Halliburton by 54.9% in Q3 to 198,710 shares (worth $4.888 million); institutional investors now own about 85.23% of the stock.
• Halliburton beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.69 EPS versus a $0.55 consensus and revenue of $5.66 billion versus $5.39 billion expected.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 (annualized $0.68, ~2.0% yield), and analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target near $35.38.

WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 198,710 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,417 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in Halliburton were worth $4,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Halliburton by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,929,285 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $145,860,000 after acquiring an additional 96,394 shares during the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Halliburton by 98.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 134,365 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 66,765 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,775,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Halliburton by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,645,526 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $40,480,000 after purchasing an additional 186,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,010,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE HAL opened at $34.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.14. Halliburton Company has a 1 year low of $18.72 and a 1 year high of $37.03.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton's payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zephirin Group lowered Halliburton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Halliburton has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total transaction of $132,187.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 81,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,805,657.47. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $5,985,152.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,101,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,499,455.28. The trade was a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 331,994 shares of company stock worth $11,331,187. Corporate insiders own 0.61% 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.

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.