Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Bought by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 274.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,682 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,827 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 31.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Weatherford International by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.1% during the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 11,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 50.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 23.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.88.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $95.77 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $82.16 and a 12 month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.08). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 49.69% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International Profile

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.