Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Sells 66,582 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV decreased its holdings in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 34.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,161 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 66,582 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $5,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HAL. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 268,861 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $10,497,000 after buying an additional 8,714 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the first quarter valued at approximately $766,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the first quarter worth $39,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Halliburton by 22.8% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,391 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Finally, Burney Co. bought a new stake in Halliburton in the first quarter valued at $521,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton announced an industry-first deployment of LOGIX automation and remote operations with Eni on a deepwater exploration well offshore Indonesia, highlighting progress in closed-loop drilling automation and strengthening its technology leadership. Eni and Halliburton Achieve Industry First With Closed-Loop Rig Automation in Deepwater Indonesia
• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton landed a key oilfield contract in Iraq to help develop the Bin Umar and Sindbad fields, which could support future production growth and deepen its international footprint. Halliburton Lands Key Iraq Oilfield Deal to Boost Production
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Halliburton while maintaining a Neutral view, and Susquehanna reiterated a Positive rating despite trimming its target, signaling continued analyst confidence in the stock’s upside. UBS Lifts Price Target on Halliburton (HAL), Reaffirms Neutral Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Wolfe Research began coverage of Halliburton with a Peer Perform rating, indicating the shares may be fairly valued relative to peers rather than clearly undervalued. Halliburton (HAL) Gets a Buy from RBC Capital
• Negative Sentiment: The death of long-serving director Abdulaziz F. Al Khayyal removes an experienced board member with audit and safety oversight background, which may raise governance and risk-management questions for investors. What Does HAL’s Board Loss Mean for Its Governance and Risk Oversight Story?
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research rated Halliburton only Peer Perform while favoring other oilfield services names, suggesting the firm may not be the best-positioned stock in the sector right now. Wolfe Research bullish on SLB and BKR, sees selective oil services cycle ahead

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $34.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $28.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.04. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $20.17 and a 52 week high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $852,377.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 93,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. This represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $363,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,064,992. This trade represents a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on HAL. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Halliburton in a report on Wednesday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.18.

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.