Simmons Bank Buys 2,438 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Simmons Bank grew its stake in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,978 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,438 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HAL. Country Trust Bank bought a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in Halliburton by 274.9% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Halliburton by 34.2% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $30.19 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $27.26 and a 52 week high of $41.56. The stock has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.89.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oilfield services company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.02). Halliburton had a return on equity of 28.33% and a net margin of 11.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Halliburton will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank assumed coverage on Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Johnson Rice raised Halliburton to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Halliburton from $45.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Halliburton from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Halliburton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.79.

About Halliburton

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.