Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Stock Purchased by M&G PLC

M&G PLC boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 177,591 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,915 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC owned approximately 0.25% of Weatherford International worth $14,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 12.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,760,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,505,000 after buying an additional 194,654 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 15.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 794,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,166,000 after buying an additional 106,716 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 43.8% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 237,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,654,000 after buying an additional 72,192 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the second quarter worth approximately $15,269,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 13.8% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 171,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,218,000 after acquiring an additional 20,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD stock opened at $84.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.83. Weatherford International PLC has a twelve month low of $68.49 and a twelve month high of $113.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.33. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.39%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.2750 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $106.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $124.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.57.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International plc is an energy services company that provides equipment, technology and services to oil and natural gas operators. Its offerings support multiple stages of the well lifecycle, including drilling and construction, formation evaluation, completion, production and well intervention. The company’s products and services include artificial-lift systems, drilling and well-construction technologies, completion tools, production optimization, and digital solutions for monitoring and managing operations.