Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Shares Acquired by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 326,892 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,183 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.46% of Weatherford International worth $22,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 712.8% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,512 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,005.3% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,056,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,148,000 after purchasing an additional 960,832 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the 2nd quarter worth $41,542,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,084.6% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 686,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,513,000 after buying an additional 628,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 196.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 825,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,343,000 after buying an additional 547,044 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on Weatherford International from $77.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research cut Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,739.25. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $94.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Weatherford International PLC has a 52 week low of $36.74 and a 52 week high of $96.15.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This is a boost from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

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.