Everence Capital Management Inc. Invests $293,000 in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 551.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,419,000 after acquiring an additional 959,783 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the 2nd quarter worth $51,287,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,443,000 after acquiring an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 89.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 612,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,969,000 after purchasing an additional 288,290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $74.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $66.23 and a one year high of $135.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $78.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.06.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.25.

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.