Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 2,098 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 43.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,950 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,152,000 after acquiring an additional 53,017 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,730,000 after purchasing an additional 182,120 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,240,000 after purchasing an additional 439,700 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,124,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,013,000 after purchasing an additional 126,482 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $89,762,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of WFRD opened at $104.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Weatherford International plc has a 1-year low of $82.16 and a 1-year high of $135.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $116.08 and a 200 day moving average of $115.74.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 49.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $153.88.

About Weatherford International

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.