Nuveen Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 331,585 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,756 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Weatherford International worth $23,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Weatherford International by 295.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,894,000 after buying an additional 4,443,823 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth about $104,287,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at $65,678,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 181.7% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company's stock worth $93,334,000 after purchasing an additional 840,456 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 132.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 728,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,166,000 after acquiring an additional 414,528 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.36. 211,335 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,160,263. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.21 and a 200 day moving average of $61.97. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 25,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.