Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 5,865 Shares of Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,161 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,865 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Weatherford International worth $15,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Trending Headlines about Weatherford International

Here are the key news stories impacting Weatherford International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Weatherford’s Q2 revenue topped expectations, suggesting demand held up better than expected despite tougher conditions. Weatherford Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates on Middle East Disruptions
• Positive Sentiment: The company reaffirmed operational stability and continued share-buyback activity, which can support investor confidence and the stock’s valuation. How Mixed Q2 Results, Buybacks, and NCS Deal At Weatherford (WFRD) Have Changed Its Investment Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Weatherford announced second-quarter 2026 results and released an earnings presentation, giving investors more detail on the quarter but no new major strategic surprise. Weatherford Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results Weatherford International plc 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: News that NCS Multistage will report results on July 30 also reminded investors that Weatherford has agreed to acquire NCS, but this was more a deal update than a fresh catalyst. NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc. to Announce Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results on July 30, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Weatherford said war-related disruptions weighed on Q2 performance, and earnings missed estimates as weaker activity and Middle East issues hurt profitability. Weatherford (WFRD) Flags War Related Q2 Pressures While Stressing Operational Stability Weatherford Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates on Middle East Disruptions
• Negative Sentiment: The stock also faced valuation pressure after the mixed results led some analysts to say it looks fairly priced rather than clearly undervalued. Weatherford (WFRD) Stock Looks Fairly Priced Following Mixed Q2 Results

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.78.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $85.60 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.89. 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 1.73, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced 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 during 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 firm’s revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.70%.

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.