Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 50,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,247,000. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Weatherford International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 364.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 50.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WFRD. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.29.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $85.83 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $77.00 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $86.97 and its 200 day moving average is $104.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% 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.