12,532 Shares in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Bought by Point72 DIFC Ltd

Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 12,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 89.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 612,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,969,000 after purchasing an additional 288,290 shares during the last quarter. Sagefield Capital LP increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 24.2% in the second quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 483,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,250,000 after buying an additional 94,254 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the second quarter valued at $3,151,000. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 41.4% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after buying an additional 4,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the second quarter valued at $283,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFRD. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James cut 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 research note on Thursday, July 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.88.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD opened at $94.46 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $105.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.51. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $82.16 and a twelve month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

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.