Northern Trust Corp Has $30.95 Million Stake in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in Weatherford International PLC by 13.6%, selling 91,031 shares, and currently holds approximately 0.80% of the company valued at $30,952,000.
• Meanwhile, other institutional investors such as Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Janus Henderson Group PLC have significantly increased their positions in Weatherford, highlighting strong investor interest in the stock.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Weatherford, with Citigroup lowering their price target to $70, while Melius Research set a target of $108, showing a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among nine analysts.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 13.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 578,009 shares of the company's stock after selling 91,031 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.80% of Weatherford International worth $30,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WFRD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,050,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,104,000 after purchasing an additional 347,584 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 2.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,485,746 shares of the company's stock worth $79,562,000 after purchasing an additional 29,840 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 67.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,201,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,343,000 after buying an additional 482,352 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 43.7% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,046,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,041,000 after buying an additional 318,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 907,593 shares of the company's stock worth $65,011,000 after buying an additional 393,955 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.5%

WFRD traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $62.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,051,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 804,801. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $57.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.78. Weatherford International PLC has a 1-year low of $36.74 and a 1-year high of $98.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 34.87% and a net margin of 9.35%.The firm's revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 15.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup dropped 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. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Melius started coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Weatherford International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.70.

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.