Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 30.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,443,000 after purchasing an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,566,000 after buying an additional 38,700 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Weatherford International by 33.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,372,000 after buying an additional 156,756 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 89.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 612,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,969,000 after buying an additional 288,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 38.8% during the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 549,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,323,000 after acquiring an additional 153,800 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WFRD shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $82.30 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.27. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $77.00 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

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.