Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) CAO Sells $521,565.66 in Stock

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Weatherford International Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $79.00 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $77.24 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $91.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.72.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 1.27%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Weatherford International by 8.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 50.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Weatherford International by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.