Vestcor Inc Lowers Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,789 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Weatherford International by 643.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 11,606.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFRD. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.63.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD opened at $53.11 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.66 and a 200 day moving average of $77.74. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $51.24 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. The trade was a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Company 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.