Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $1.35 Million Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 7.7% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 63,764 shares of the company's stock worth $7,360,000 after buying an additional 4,541 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter valued at $2,132,000. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 40,058 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,624,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Weatherford International stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.30. The stock had a trading volume of 350,439 shares, 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 quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock's 50 day moving average is $85.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.42. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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 $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.