Rhumbline Advisers Has $14.96 Million Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 208,837 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,589 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Weatherford International were worth $14,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 643.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth about $157,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. This represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total transaction of $929,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,892 shares in the company, valued at $590,517.72. The trade was a 61.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Down 6.8 %

Weatherford International stock opened at $65.48 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $60.45 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

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.