Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stake Reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 267,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,501 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.37% of Weatherford International worth $22,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the second quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 88.9% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 9,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,951,000. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP increased its position in Weatherford International by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 170,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,938,000 after acquiring an additional 34,750 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $72.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.40 and a 200-day moving average of $94.90. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $66.23 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WFRD. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.