Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Raises Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 71,274 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,125 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.10% of Weatherford International worth $8,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,152,000 after purchasing an additional 53,017 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Weatherford International by 2.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,730,000 after purchasing an additional 182,120 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Weatherford International by 19.3% during the first 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 period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in 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. grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenlight Capital Inc. now owns 456,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,670,000 after buying an additional 26,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $94.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.51. The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $82.16 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.08). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 49.69%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Weatherford International 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.