Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Position Reduced by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,780 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,525 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WFRD. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $42,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $53.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.09 and its 200-day moving average is $74.97. 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 plc has a 12 month low of $51.24 and a 12 month high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.63.

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.