Norden Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Norden Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 33.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,206 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $571,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,138.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 29,530 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 203,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,248,000 after purchasing an additional 13,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 643.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark lowered their price target on 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 lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $56.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $56.38 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.07. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Weatherford International

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.