iSAM Funds UK Ltd Invests $436,000 in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 59.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company's stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 26,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 15,852 shares of the company's stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,048 shares of the company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:WFRD traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $45.50. The stock had a trading volume of 748,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,754. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $36.74 and a one year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The business's 50 day moving average is $46.50 and its 200-day moving average is $62.56.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, Director Neal P. Goldman bought 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 25,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.63.

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.