Royce & Associates LP Purchases Shares of 100,367 Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 100,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,000. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.14% of Weatherford International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 643.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 11,606.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Stock Down 3.2 %

WFRD opened at $53.67 on Wednesday. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $51.24 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. Sell-side analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. The trade was a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $807,179.94. This represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.63.

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.