King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 11,730 Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its stake in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 17.4%, selling 11,730 shares and holding 55,520 shares valued at approximately $2.97 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Weatherford, with Capital Research Global Investors raising its stake by 295.9%, now owning nearly 6 million shares worth about $425 million.
• Weatherford International recently reported earnings of $1.87 EPS, exceeding estimates by $0.90, alongside a quarterly dividend announcement of $0.25, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%.

King Luther Capital Management Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 17.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,520 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,730 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned 0.08% of Weatherford International worth $2,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WFRD. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock worth $425,894,000 after buying an additional 4,443,823 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,287,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 181.7% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company's stock worth $93,334,000 after buying an additional 840,456 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 67.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,201,544 shares of the company's stock worth $64,343,000 after buying an additional 482,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 907,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,011,000 after purchasing an additional 393,955 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.63.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $53.78 on Tuesday. Weatherford International PLC has a 12 month low of $36.74 and a 12 month high of $111.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.77. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 34.87%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. 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.

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