Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Position Trimmed by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 66.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,167 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,419,000 after buying an additional 959,783 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,877,000 after buying an additional 144,396 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,555,000 after buying an additional 68,553 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 551.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,356,000 after buying an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,443,000 after buying an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Weatherford International stock opened at $52.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.69. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $51.24 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % 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, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.