Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Holdings Increased by Sagefield Capital LP

Sagefield Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 483,873 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,254 shares during the period. Weatherford International makes up about 6.3% of Sagefield Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sagefield Capital LP owned 0.66% of Weatherford International worth $59,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,152,000 after purchasing an additional 53,017 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,730,000 after buying an additional 182,120 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,240,000 after buying an additional 439,700 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,566,000 after buying an additional 38,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenlight Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenlight Capital Inc. now owns 456,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,670,000 after buying an additional 26,550 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WFRD. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $96.04 on Tuesday. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $82.16 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.61. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.08). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 49.69%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.