Clearbridge Investments LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 81.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 506,292 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,342 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $36,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 643.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James dropped 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $54.19 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.26. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $51.24 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total transaction of $929,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $590,517.72. This represents a 61.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.