Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires 4,396 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 42.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,710 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,396 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,152,000 after buying an additional 53,017 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Weatherford International by 2.9% during the first 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 grew its stake in Weatherford International by 19.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,762,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,566,000 after purchasing an additional 38,700 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Weatherford International stock opened at $95.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $107.17 and its 200-day moving average is $114.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $82.16 and a 12 month high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.