Van ECK Associates Corp Has $57.88 Million Stock Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 14.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 713,213 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,746 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.98% of Weatherford International worth $57,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Weatherford International during the first quarter worth $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Weatherford International by 31.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 50.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WFRD. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research 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. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.88.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $77.50 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.41. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $77.00 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

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.