Insider Selling: Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) CAO Sells 19,425 Shares of Stock

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,361.49. The trade was a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $67.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $60.45 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $71.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.25.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,760,000 after buying an additional 270,775 shares in 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 during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,877,000 after acquiring an additional 144,396 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,555,000 after buying an additional 68,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Weatherford International by 551.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.