Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 172,990 Shares of Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 94.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 172,990 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 89.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 18,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,785,000 after buying an additional 8,925 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 32.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Weatherford International by 22.4% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 83,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,904,000 after buying an additional 15,294 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Weatherford International by 43.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 60,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,705,000 after acquiring an additional 18,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP bought a new position in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter worth about $976,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $86.82 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.92 and a 200 day moving average of $95.88. Weatherford International PLC has a 52 week low of $52.70 and a 52 week high of $113.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 21.70%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, Director Neal P. Goldman sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $1,357,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,945.08. This represents a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total transaction of $516,540.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,187 shares in the company, valued at $963,088.83. This trade represents a 34.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WFRD. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Weatherford International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $114.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.56.

Weatherford International Company 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.