Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Purchases 23,886 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,065 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,886 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $11,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Weatherford International by 190.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Weatherford International by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 25,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This represents a 90.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $47.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.47. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $36.74 and a 12 month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James cut Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.63.

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.