Monaco Asset Management SAM Trims Stake in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Monaco Asset Management SAM lessened its holdings in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,500 shares during the period. Monaco Asset Management SAM’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the second quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 69.8% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $104.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 0.79. Weatherford International PLC has a 52 week low of $36.74 and a 52 week high of $107.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.43 and a 200 day moving average of $74.83.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.07% and a net margin of 8.76%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,739.25. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International 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.