KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 14,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 36.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,419,000 after buying an additional 959,783 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 132.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 728,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,166,000 after acquiring an additional 414,528 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 402.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 324,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,555,000 after acquiring an additional 259,924 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,703,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,723,000 after purchasing an additional 204,317 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James lowered their target price on 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 cut their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.63.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $53.10 on Monday. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $51.24 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.09 and a 200-day moving average of $74.78.

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 return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of Weatherford International 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.