Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 172,720 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Wesbanco Bank Inc. cut its stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 50.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 172,720 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $4,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arista Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton in the third quarter valued at about $246,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 20,071 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 5,648 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 51,508 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 185,485 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $4,563,000 after buying an additional 5,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 4,820 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $5,985,152.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,101,243 shares in the company, valued at $38,499,455.28. This represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $3,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 337,002 shares of company stock valued at $11,445,938 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Stock Down 2.5%

Halliburton stock opened at $34.04 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.77. Halliburton Company has a fifty-two week low of $18.72 and a fifty-two week high of $35.55.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HAL. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Argus boosted their target price on Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.95.

About Halliburton

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.