Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Stake Raised by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 188.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,944 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,798 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Weatherford International by 0.7% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 33,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 69.8% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 22,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $83.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Weatherford International PLC has a one year low of $36.74 and a one year high of $91.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.79.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 8.15%.Weatherford International’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $164,465.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,739.25. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group started coverage on Weatherford International in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $81.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Friday, October 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.70.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.