Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stake Lowered by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,763 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,796 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 19.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,240,000 after purchasing an additional 439,700 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the second quarter worth $51,287,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 5,525.3% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 359,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 353,177 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 89.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 612,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,969,000 after purchasing an additional 288,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the second quarter worth $33,951,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.88.

Weatherford International Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of WFRD opened at $77.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.42. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $77.00 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Weatherford International

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.