Royce & Associates LP Acquires New Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 100,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 643.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 11,606.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD opened at $53.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.03. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $51.24 and a 12 month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James reduced 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective 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, February 10th. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

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.