Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Bought by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 26.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 949 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,653,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth $3,309,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 669.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after buying an additional 14,112 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 79.7% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 11,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 5,315 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Weatherford International by 107.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 12,170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WFRD. Raymond James dropped their price target on 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $150.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD opened at $84.06 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.11. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $82.16 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 16.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company’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 transaction of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International Company 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.