Desmond J. Mills Sells 19,425 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $67.63 on Thursday. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $135.00. 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 cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.04.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James decreased their price target 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,760,000 after acquiring an additional 270,775 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,419,000 after purchasing an additional 959,783 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in Weatherford International by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,877,000 after purchasing an additional 144,396 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,555,000 after purchasing an additional 68,553 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 551.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after buying an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% 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.