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

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its Weatherford International stake by 94.5% in the first quarter, selling 172,990 shares and retaining 10,046 shares valued at approximately $950,000. Institutional investors collectively own 97.23% of the company.
• Weatherford reported quarterly EPS of $0.55, missing the $0.90 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.10 billion exceeded expectations but fell 8.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275, equivalent to $1.10 annually and a 1.3% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $113.56.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 94.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,046 shares of the company's stock after selling 172,990 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 712.8% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,512 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 1,040.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,244,464 shares of the company's stock worth $97,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135,338 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,399,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,096.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 855,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,971,000 after purchasing an additional 784,237 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 154.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,159,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,324,000 after purchasing an additional 703,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

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

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $86.82 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $88.92 and its 200 day moving average is $95.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Weatherford International PLC has a 1 year low of $52.70 and a 1 year high of $113.15.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.35). Weatherford International had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group raised Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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