Discerene Group LP Sells 62,930 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Discerene Group LP cut its position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,248,484 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 62,930 shares during the quarter. Halliburton accounts for about 2.6% of Discerene Group LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Discerene Group LP’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $30,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 547.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $34.11 on Friday. Halliburton Company has a one year low of $18.72 and a one year high of $37.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.30 and its 200-day moving average is $27.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.73.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. Halliburton’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HAL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $36.00 price target on Halliburton in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.19.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In related news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $3,225,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,538,550. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 328,148 shares of company stock valued at $11,199,000. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Company 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.