Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 1,135,338 Shares of Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs sharply increased its stake in Weatherford International, buying 1,135,338 additional shares in the fourth quarter and lifting its holdings by 1,040.4% to 1,244,464 shares worth about $97.4 million.
• Weatherford reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting EPS of $1.49 versus the $1.02 consensus estimate, while revenue came in slightly ahead of expectations at $1.15 billion.
• Analysts remain constructive on WFRD, with seven Buy ratings and four Hold ratings, giving the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.67.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 1,040.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,244,464 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,135,338 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.74% of Weatherford International worth $97,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,673,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,245,000 after acquiring an additional 98,663 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 712.8% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,512 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 43.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,572,422 shares of the company's stock worth $107,601,000 after purchasing an additional 476,575 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 4.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,301,573 shares of the company's stock worth $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 57,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 103.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,165,753 shares of the company's stock worth $79,772,000 after purchasing an additional 591,694 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD stock opened at $101.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $103.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.72. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.82. Weatherford International PLC has a 1-year low of $46.20 and a 1-year high of $113.15.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 9.49%.The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 17.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WFRD. UBS Group lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Weatherford International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $134.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.67.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International NASDAQ: WFRD is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.

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