Hancock Whitney Corp Raises Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,994 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the second quarter worth $1,653,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,584,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,132,000. Merewether Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 549,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,323,000 after purchasing an additional 153,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,372,000 after buying an additional 156,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Bank of America dropped 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 note on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. Six 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.29.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $81.99 on Wednesday. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $77.00 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.22%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.