Insider Selling: Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) CAO Sells $1,311,381.75 in Stock

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $1,311,381.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,361.49. The trade was a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $67.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.04. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $60.45 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. Equities analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WFRD shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James dropped their target price on 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,184,000. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 13,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946 shares in the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth $481,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 190.4% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 50,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 19,785 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.