Blue Trust Inc. Raises Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 643.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,278 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 551.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,553 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 36.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,419,000 after acquiring an additional 959,783 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 30.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,443,000 after acquiring an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 402.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 324,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,555,000 after acquiring an additional 259,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,723,000 after acquiring an additional 204,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Citigroup reduced 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James cut their target price on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Trading Down 6.8 %

Weatherford International stock opened at $65.48 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $60.45 and a one year high of $135.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.56 and its 200 day moving average is $83.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.88%.

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.