Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Purchased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,106 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,007 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $17,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Weatherford International by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WFRD. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.88.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD stock opened at $81.78 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.19. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.60. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $77.00 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.