Legato Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Legato Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,859 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 6,264 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,818,000 after purchasing an additional 24,637 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in Weatherford International by 114.5% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 3,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Weatherford International by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,179.94. This represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Up 9.3 %

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $73.93 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $70.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.97. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio 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.