OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Makes New Investment in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Key Points

• OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp has purchased 44,000 shares of Weatherford International PLC, worth approximately $2.36 million, increasing its ownership stake to around 0.06% of the company.
• The company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.97, despite a 14.3% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Weatherford International recently declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%, with a payout ratio of 15.48%.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 44,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,356,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp owned 0.06% of Weatherford International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 669,040 shares of the company's stock worth $47,923,000 after acquiring an additional 159,160 shares in the last quarter. Alden Global Capital LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 113.8% during the 4th quarter. Alden Global Capital LLC now owns 22,268 shares of the company's stock worth $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 11,855 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. now owns 438,109 shares of the company's stock worth $31,382,000 after acquiring an additional 157,000 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,028,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,701,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.70.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Weatherford International stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $62.67. 1,051,477 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 804,801. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.33. The firm has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.78. Weatherford International PLC has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $98.21.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 34.87%. Weatherford International's revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 15.48%.

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.