Two Sigma Securities LLC Sells 20,244 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Two Sigma Securities LLC lowered its position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,133 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 20,244 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.8%

Halliburton stock opened at $37.33 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.63. The company has a market cap of $31.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.76. Halliburton Company has a 52-week low of $21.40 and a 52-week 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.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus cut their price target on Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $37.00 target price on Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Freedom Capital raised Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.10.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,382.80. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 118,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,166,235.70. The trade was 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 currently owned by company 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.