Arunava Mitra Sells 10,000 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. This represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD traded down $3.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,161,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,348,210. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $70.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.66. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 14.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WFRD shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at approximately $571,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 59.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 1,138.4% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,728,000 after buying an additional 29,530 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 6.8% in 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 buying an additional 13,007 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 67.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 143,900 shares of the company's stock worth $12,220,000 after buying an additional 57,866 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.