JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $20.52 Million Stock Holdings in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Weatherford by 16.9% to 299,818 shares, representing a 0.42% ownership worth $20.52 million at the end of the quarter.
• CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares on Feb. 6 at an average price of $105.50, generating about $10.55 million in proceeds; insiders now own 1.6% of the stock.
• Weatherford beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.91, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.275 (annualized $1.10, 1.2% yield), and holds a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $98.33 target.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 16.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,818 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,244 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.42% of Weatherford International worth $20,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter worth $231,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 8.1% in the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 324,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,297,000 after purchasing an additional 24,240 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 17,652 shares of the company's stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in Weatherford International by 106.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 472,814 shares of the company's stock worth $32,355,000 after purchasing an additional 244,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth about $260,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total transaction of $10,550,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.33.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $93.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business's 50-day moving average is $95.05 and its 200-day moving average is $80.49. Weatherford International PLC has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $110.57.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.07% and a net margin of 8.76%.The firm's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Weatherford International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.55%.

Weatherford International Company Profile

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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