Thomist Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 27,800 Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Thomist Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,931,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,072 shares of the company's stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,273,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 926 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 190.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD traded down $1.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.13. 229,915 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,156,986. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 6.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $36.74 and a 12-month high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 16.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on WFRD shares. Benchmark cut their price objective 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James cut Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.09% of the stock is 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.