Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $1.08 Million in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,077,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $546,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 154.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 23,685 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 500,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,815,000 after acquiring an additional 43,182 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,215,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 280,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,093,000 after acquiring an additional 63,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman bought 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James downgraded Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.63.

Weatherford International Stock Up 0.6%

WFRD stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $43.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,785,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,451. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.65. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 16.00%.

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.