Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 48,973 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,005,076 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,973 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Halliburton worth $39,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 82,596.0% in the 4th 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. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 110,220,971 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $3,114,848,000 after buying an additional 19,190,520 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at $169,304,000. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 1st quarter valued at $158,525,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 85.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,610,870 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $175,490,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969,759 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Halliburton

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton won multiple multi-year Saudi Aramco contracts, including work tied to the Jafurah gas project and a 285-well campaign, expanding its footprint in a key growth market. Halliburton Lands Aramco Deal for Saudi Arabia’s Jafurah Gas Project
• Positive Sentiment: Offshore and industry coverage pointed to Halliburton “reaping rewards” from Aramco-led awards, reinforcing expectations for stronger international activity and backlog growth. Deals of the week: Halliburton reaps rewards as Aramco leads the prizegiving
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also highlighted Halliburton’s deepwater momentum, suggesting continued strength in activity trends beyond Saudi Arabia. Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Gains on Deepwater Momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Halliburton is nearing its Q2 earnings report, with investors watching for signs that stronger completion and drilling activity offset Middle East disruptions and higher costs. Halliburton Set to Report Q2 Earnings: Key Things To Watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage from MarketWatch and other outlets largely reiterated the Aramco contract news, which keeps the market focused on backlog and project execution rather than a new catalyst. Halliburton Gets Aramco Contracts for Saudi Oil Wells

Halliburton Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:HAL opened at $35.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $20.17 and a 12 month high of $43.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.28.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Halliburton’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on HAL. HSBC boosted 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Capital One Financial boosted their target price on Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.27.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,382.80. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $363,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton 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.