Everence Capital Management Inc. Makes New $293,000 Investment in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 29.2% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,000 after buying an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 2nd quarter worth $355,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 88.9% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 9,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in Weatherford International in the second quarter valued at about $33,951,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $74.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $78.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $66.23 and a 12 month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.25.

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.