Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Trims Stock Position in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 54.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,339 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 669,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,923,000 after purchasing an additional 159,160 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $3,028,000. Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $802,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 2,351.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 130,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,353,000 after purchasing an additional 125,249 shares during the period. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 338,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,272,000 after purchasing an additional 41,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WFRD. Melius began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.70.

Weatherford International Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $62.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.21. Weatherford International PLC has a one year low of $36.74 and a one year high of $98.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 34.87%. The business’s revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.48%.

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.