Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,828 Shares of Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 159,622 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,828 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $10,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 223.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 122,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,568,000 after buying an additional 84,684 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Weatherford International by 129.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 143,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,695,000 after acquiring an additional 81,046 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Weatherford International in the first quarter valued at about $258,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 120.7% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 10,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $164,465.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,739.25. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total transaction of $10,550,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $103.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.79. Weatherford International PLC has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $106.41.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.07% and a net margin of 8.76%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is an increase from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 18.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.50.

Weatherford International Profile

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.