De Lisle Partners LLP Buys 5,000 Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Key Points

• De Lisle Partners LLP has increased its ownership in Weatherford International PLC by 12.5%, holding 45,000 shares valued at $2.41 million.
• The company recently reported $1.87 earnings per share for its latest quarter, exceeding expectations and demonstrating solid revenue of $1.20 billion.
• Weatherford International announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, indicating a 1.70% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 15.48%.

De Lisle Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP owned about 0.06% of Weatherford International worth $2,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Weatherford International by 295.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,894,000 after buying an additional 4,443,823 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,287,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,678,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Weatherford International by 181.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,334,000 after buying an additional 840,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Weatherford International by 67.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,201,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,343,000 after buying an additional 482,352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WFRD shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.63.

Weatherford International Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ WFRD traded down $1.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.74. 977,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,366,610. Weatherford International PLC has a one year low of $36.74 and a one year high of $111.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Weatherford International's quarterly revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.