Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,945 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $165,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 313,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,643,000 after buying an additional 16,435 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,289,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Weatherford International by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 13,750 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 203,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,248,000 after buying an additional 13,007 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.29.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $82.43 on Thursday. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $77.00 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $87.18 and a 200-day moving average of $105.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is 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.