Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Holdings Lowered by Deutsche Bank AG

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG has significantly decreased its stake in Weatherford International PLC by 56.4%, selling 73,697 shares to reduce its ownership to 56,879 shares valued at approximately $3 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Weatherford, with notable boosts including Signaturefd LLC, which raised its stake by 1,002% during the same period.
• Weatherford International is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with an average price target of $97.63 and the company's stock recently reported a 0.5% decline to $56.32.

Deutsche Bank AG lowered its stake in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 56.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,879 shares of the company's stock after selling 73,697 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.08% of Weatherford International worth $3,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 6.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 808,128 shares of the company's stock worth $43,275,000 after buying an additional 51,958 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 4.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,050,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,104,000 after purchasing an additional 347,584 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 17.9% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 189,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,170,000 after purchasing an additional 28,848 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 190.1% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 46,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 30,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 107.4% in the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 14,764 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WFRD shares. Melius started coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reduced 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.70.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD traded up $3.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.83. The stock had a trading volume of 790,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,323. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.65. Weatherford International PLC has a 52 week low of $36.74 and a 52 week high of $111.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. 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.