Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 174,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 529 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $12,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 10.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Weatherford International by 1.9% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 14,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WFRD shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.88.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $66.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.45.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.