Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,596 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,508 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $2,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 643.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD stock opened at $52.23 on Monday. 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 52-week low of $51.24 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WFRD. Barclays cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.63.

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.