Scientech Research LLC Increases Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Scientech Research LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 722.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,991 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,169 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,240,000 after purchasing an additional 439,700 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,287,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 5,525.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 359,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 353,177 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Weatherford International by 89.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 612,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,969,000 after acquiring an additional 288,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,951,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James dropped their target price 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $150.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 3.5 %

Weatherford International stock opened at $84.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.99. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $82.16 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

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.