Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Purchased by Alden Global Capital LLC

Alden Global Capital LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 113.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,268 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,855 shares during the period. Weatherford International comprises approximately 1.6% of Alden Global Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Alden Global Capital LLC's holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company's stock worth $551,760,000 after purchasing an additional 270,775 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,894,000 after buying an additional 4,443,823 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,375,000 after acquiring an additional 298,811 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,638,934 shares of the company's stock worth $260,657,000 after acquiring an additional 65,931 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company's stock worth $198,877,000 after acquiring an additional 144,396 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WFRD. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James downgraded Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.75.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. The trade was a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. The trade was a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,916,822 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Up 5.0 %

NASDAQ:WFRD traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.73. 1,438,123 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,139,188. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.21 and a 200 day moving average of $66.07. 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 plc has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

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.