Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,738 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,435 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.43% of Weatherford International worth $26,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the second quarter valued at about $1,653,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 107.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,527 shares of the company's stock worth $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 12,170 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the second quarter valued at approximately $20,584,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $739,730,000 after acquiring an additional 182,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 1st quarter worth $2,132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WFRD. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $147.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

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

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ WFRD traded up $1.50 on Monday, hitting $83.36. The stock had a trading volume of 573,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,512. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $87.44 and a 200-day moving average of $105.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $77.00 and a 52-week high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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.