Commerce Bank Makes New Investment in Halliburton Company $HAL

Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 34,704 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,178,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HAL. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Halliburton in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in Halliburton by 196.4% in the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,330,382.80. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $1,844,751.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 118,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,166,235.70. This represents a 30.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

HAL opened at $33.85 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $28.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.73. Halliburton Company has a 1-year low of $21.40 and a 1-year high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HAL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Halliburton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.10.

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.