Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Shares Sold by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners has reduced its stake in Weatherford International PLC by 19.2%, owning approximately 3.09% of the company, which is valued at about $120 million following the sale of over 534,000 shares.
• Weatherford International's quarterly earnings exceeded analyst expectations, reporting $1.87 EPS against estimates of $0.97, despite a 14.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 1.7% yield, with a modest payout ratio of 15.48%.

Boston Partners reduced its stake in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 19.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,243,076 shares of the company's stock after selling 534,052 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 3.09% of Weatherford International worth $120,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 546.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 645 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1,002.0% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup reduced 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.63.

Weatherford International Trading Up 2.4%

Weatherford International stock traded up $1.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $56.63. 602,670 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,327,759. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.77. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.72. Weatherford International PLC has a 12-month low of $36.74 and a 12-month high of $111.23.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.48%.

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.