State of Alaska Department of Revenue Boosts Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 246.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,530 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,575 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $2,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 2.9% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 17,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in Weatherford International by 1.6% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 63,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,305,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at $932,764.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other 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 dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WFRD shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.88.

Weatherford International Stock Down 1.9 %

WFRD stock opened at $77.50 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $77.00 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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.