Townsquare Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,699 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 190.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD stock opened at $44.28 on Thursday. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.59, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. Analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WFRD. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $97.00 to $73.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.75.

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.