Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Holdings Raised by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 130.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,076 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.6 %

WFRD stock opened at $67.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.52.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.25.

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.