Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 34.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 95,190 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,637 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Weatherford International worth $6,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at approximately $571,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 59.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 11,680 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1,138.4% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,728,000 after acquiring an additional 29,530 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 6.8% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 203,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,248,000 after acquiring an additional 13,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 67.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 143,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,220,000 after acquiring an additional 57,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD traded down $3.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,161,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,348,210. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $60.45 and a 12-month high of $135.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The business's 50-day moving average is $70.35 and its 200 day moving average is $84.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.