72,269 Shares in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Acquired by Point72 Hong Kong Ltd

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 72,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,137,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd owned about 0.10% of Weatherford International as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 364.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1,516.2% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 598 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.30. 350,439 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 790,759. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $77.00 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. The business's 50 day moving average price is $85.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WFRD. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $147.29.

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.