Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Expro Group Holdings N.V. $XPRO

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Expro Group Holdings N.V. (NYSE:XPRO) by 56.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 108,681 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 39,283 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Expro Group were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of XPRO. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Expro Group in the 4th quarter worth about $58,165,000. Dockside LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expro Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,640,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Expro Group during the 4th quarter worth about $690,000. Connable Office Inc. acquired a new stake in Expro Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $440,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Expro Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $642,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Expro Group

In related news, Director Eileen Goss Whelley sold 6,168 shares of Expro Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.14, for a total value of $93,383.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 47,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $721,390.72. This trade represents a 11.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XPRO. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $19.00 price target on shares of Expro Group in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Expro Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Expro Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Expro Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Expro Group from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Expro Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.33.

Expro Group Trading Up 4.0%

NYSE XPRO opened at $15.22 on Friday. Expro Group Holdings N.V. has a 12 month low of $9.81 and a 12 month high of $18.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.54 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.15.

Expro Group (NYSE:XPRO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $393.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.36 million. Expro Group had a return on equity of 3.27% and a net margin of 1.33%.Expro Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Expro Group Holdings N.V. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Expro Group

Expro Group plc is a global energy services company that specializes in well flow management and well testing solutions for the oil and gas industry. The company’s core offerings include wellhead and pressure control systems, downhole well construction tools, subsea intervention services, and integrated tubular running services. These capabilities enable exploration and production companies to optimize well performance, enhance safety and mitigate operational risk throughout the drilling, completion and intervention phases of the well life cycle.

Founded in 1973, Expro has grown both organically and through targeted acquisitions to establish a presence in more than 30 countries.