Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Bought by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,994 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WFRD. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 31.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1,516.2% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $81.99 on Wednesday. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $77.00 and a one year high of $135.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.28.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.29.

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.