Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 208,172 Shares of Cactus, Inc. $WHD

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Cactus, Inc. (NYSE:WHD) by 31.5% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 868,409 shares valued at $39.8 million.
• Cactus announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.13, representing a 1.3% yield.
• The company recently reported Q2 earnings with $0.66 EPS, missing estimates, and a 5.8% decline in year-over-year revenue, prompting analysts to adjust their ratings and price targets for the stock.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Cactus, Inc. (NYSE:WHD - Free Report) by 31.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 868,409 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 208,172 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.09% of Cactus worth $39,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Cactus by 113.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Cactus during the first quarter valued at $57,000. Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new stake in Cactus during the first quarter valued at $130,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Cactus by 11.9% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Cactus by 7.5% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.11% of the company's stock.

Cactus Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of WHD traded down $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.00. The stock had a trading volume of 560,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 585,326. Cactus, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.80 and a 1 year high of $70.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.85 and a quick ratio of 3.48. The stock's 50 day moving average is $42.29 and its 200 day moving average is $42.90.

Cactus (NYSE:WHD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $273.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $280.28 million. Cactus had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The company's revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Cactus, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cactus Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a boost from Cactus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Cactus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WHD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Cactus from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cactus from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cactus from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Cactus from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $52.00 target price (down previously from $53.00) on shares of Cactus in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.75.

Insider Activity at Cactus

In other news, EVP William D. Marsh sold 10,172 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.32, for a total value of $420,307.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $458,156.16. This represents a 47.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 13.75% of the company's stock.

About Cactus

Cactus, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sells, and leases pressure control and spoolable pipes in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Middle East, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Pressure Control and Spoolable Technologies. The Pressure Control segment designs, manufactures, sells, and rents a range of wellhead and pressure control equipment under the Cactus Wellhead brand name through service centers.