Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Short Interest Up 24.2% in April

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,080,000 shares, an increase of 24.2% from the March 31st total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $44.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 6.66, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $49.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.42. Weatherford International has a 52 week low of $36.74 and a 52 week high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. The trade was a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,916,822. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter worth about $571,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $546,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 154.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 23,685 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 500,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,815,000 after buying an additional 43,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $7,215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.75.

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.