27,800 Shares in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Purchased by Thomist Capital Management LP

Thomist Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 27,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,931,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised 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 during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Raymond James cut shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.63.

Weatherford International Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,018,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,084. Weatherford International plc has a 1-year low of $36.74 and a 1-year high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm's 50 day moving average is $47.00 and its 200-day moving average is $63.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 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 firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. On average, analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This represents a 90.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

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.