20,500 Shares in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 20,500 shares of Weatherford International worth approximately $1.67 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 97.23% of the company, with several major funds also increasing their positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with seven Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a target price of $114.25. However, recent targets have been mixed, and one research firm downgraded the stock to Strong Sell.
• Weatherford reported quarterly EPS of $0.55, below the $0.90 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.10 billion and declined 8.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275, equivalent to a 1.2% annual yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 20,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,671,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 8,014.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,780,800 shares of the company's stock worth $552,635,000 after purchasing an additional 6,697,233 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,156,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,571,000 after buying an additional 281,984 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,928,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,903,000 after buying an additional 66,553 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,760,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,505,000 after buying an additional 194,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Weatherford International by 712.8% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company's stock worth $82,812,000 after buying an additional 1,443,512 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, Director Neal Goldman sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $1,357,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,187 shares in the company, valued at $1,033,945.08. The trade was a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline Mutschler sold 4,094 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $370,507.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,632,916.50. The trade was a 12.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,094 shares of company stock valued at $2,244,487. Company insiders own 2.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WFRD. UBS Group upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $113.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of Weatherford International from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.25.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $88.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.08. Weatherford International PLC has a 1-year low of $60.84 and a 1-year high of $113.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.90.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.70%.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International plc NASDAQ: WFRD is an energy services company that provides equipment, technology and services to the oil and natural gas industry. Its offerings support the exploration, drilling, completion, production and intervention of onshore and offshore wells.

The company's portfolio includes drilling and well-construction systems, formation evaluation tools, well-completion equipment, production optimization technologies, artificial-lift systems and well-intervention services.

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