BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases New Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 42,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,028,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.06% of Weatherford International as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $546,000. Amundi increased its position in Weatherford International by 154.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock worth $2,813,000 after buying an additional 23,685 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 500,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,815,000 after buying an additional 43,182 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $7,215,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 280,510 shares of the company's stock worth $20,093,000 after acquiring an additional 63,775 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WFRD. Benchmark reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James cut Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.63.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,074.44. This represents a 90.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ WFRD traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $46.93. 82,269 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,155,844. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. 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 $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.35.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.00%.

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.