Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,803 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 10.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in Weatherford International by 1.9% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 14,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $53.67 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $51.24 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,835.04. This represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.