Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 132.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 728,266 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 414,528 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.00% of Weatherford International worth $52,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 8,884 shares of the company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,206 shares of the company's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $546,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 719,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,516,000 after buying an additional 109,783 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 11,606.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD traded down $3.86 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $52.25. 195,946 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,257,390. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $52.08 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $67.56 and its 200-day moving average is $79.64.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.88%.

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.