West Family Investments Inc. Purchases New Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,715 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton in the second quarter worth $26,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Down 0.6%

HAL stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.86. 8,448,155 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,476,296. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.76. Halliburton Company has a 1 year low of $21.46 and a 1 year high of $43.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.69.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on HAL shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Argus cut their price objective on Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Halliburton from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 118,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,166,235.70. This trade represents a 30.69% 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. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.