4,188 Shares in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Bought by Petrus Trust Company LTA

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new stake in Weatherford International PLC, purchasing 4,188 shares valued at approximately $224,000.
• Weatherford International reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.87 for the last quarter, significantly beating analysts' estimates by $0.90.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, representing an annualized yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 15.48%.

Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Weatherford International by 546.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Weatherford International by 30,600.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 614 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 55.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 645 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Weatherford International by 188.6% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,036 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 1,002.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 0.7%

WFRD traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.30. The stock had a trading volume of 621,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,161. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $58.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 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.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 34.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WFRD. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.70.

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.