Weiss Asset Management LP Invests $21.01 Million in Halliburton Company $HAL

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 538,940 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,013,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Halliburton by 10.2% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,794 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Halliburton by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Halliburton by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,320 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Halliburton by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,363 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton News Summary

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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,230. This trade represents a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at $3,927,732.07. This trade represents a 17.83% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HAL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zephirin Group upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $37.00 price objective on Halliburton in a report on Wednesday. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.14.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $33.31 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.45. The firm has a market cap of $27.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71. Halliburton Company has a 12-month low of $20.39 and a 12-month high of $43.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Halliburton’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

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.