Energy Income Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Energy Income Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 565,683 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 28,997 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $22,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Halliburton by 6,364.7% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,099 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total value of $8,189,830.21. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,036,019.94. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,382.80. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of HAL opened at $32.14 on Tuesday. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $20.39 and a 12 month high of $43.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.