T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Raises Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,402,833 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 298,811 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 6.06% of Weatherford International worth $315,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 59.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company's stock worth $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 11,680 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $571,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 39.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 63.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 461,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,007,000 after buying an additional 179,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 94.2% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 175,369 shares of the company's stock worth $14,892,000 after buying an additional 85,080 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $42.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,656,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,116,447. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $135.00. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $51.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 6.27, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) 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. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc 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 given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WFRD. Barclays reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.75.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. This trade represents a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.