Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 204,317 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 917,530 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 204,317 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $65,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Weatherford International by 29.4% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 36.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 405.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at approximately $233,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $73.93 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.49 and a 200 day moving average of $84.97. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $60.45 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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 return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.