Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,913 shares of the company’s stock after selling 103,659 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $14,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WFRD. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at about $206,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 107.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 12,170 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 121.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 92,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,626,000 after acquiring an additional 50,409 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 4.8% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 8.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Raymond James reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $81.86 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a 1-year low of $77.00 and a 1-year high of $135.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Weatherford International Profile

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.