Private Advisory Group LLC Grows Holdings in Halliburton Company $HAL

Private Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 468,739 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 121,849 shares during the quarter. Halliburton accounts for approximately 0.9% of Private Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Private Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Halliburton worth $11,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HAL. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Halliburton in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Halliburton by 547.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Halliburton by 111.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:HAL opened at $35.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.77. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $18.72 and a 52 week high of $35.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.83 and a 200 day moving average of $27.05.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction of $1,900,006.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. The trade was a 13.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction of $5,985,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,101,243 shares in the company, valued at $38,499,455.28. The trade was a 13.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,938. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HAL. Citigroup increased their price target on Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Halliburton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.19.

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.