Empirical Finance LLC Buys 1,072 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,292 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $1,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the first quarter worth about $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HAL traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.94. 6,770,785 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,246,214. The firm has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.93. Halliburton has a twelve month low of $32.60 and a twelve month high of $43.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Halliburton had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 30.84%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on HAL. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $46.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.75.

Insider Activity

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total transaction of $369,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 283,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,481,883.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total transaction of $369,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 283,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,481,883.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jill D. Sharp sold 3,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $123,802.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,845. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,287 shares of company stock worth $1,930,704 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

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.