Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) EVP Sells $346,006.92 in Stock

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Weatherford International Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $70.19 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $66.23 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.11 and its 200-day moving average is $94.39. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 20.7% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 10.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.