South Dakota Investment Council Makes New $3.07 Million Investment in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Key Points

• South Dakota Investment Council bought 44,851 shares of Weatherford in Q3, valued at approximately $3.07 million, and the stock is heavily institutionally owned (about 97.23%).
• Several large funds dramatically increased positions—Holocene Advisors now holds 1.646M shares (~$82.8M), Federated Hermes 1.056M shares (~$53.1M), and Norges Bank added a new stake of about $41.5M—signaling strong institutional buying interest.
• Fundamentals and sentiment: Weatherford beat Q results (EPS $1.91 vs. $1.42 est.), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.275 (annualized $1.10, 1.1% yield), the CEO sold 100,000 shares for ~$10.55M, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a target of $97.50.

South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 44,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,069,000. South Dakota Investment Council owned 0.06% of Weatherford International as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Weatherford International by 712.8% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,812,000 after buying an additional 1,443,512 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 1,005.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,056,407 shares of the company's stock worth $53,148,000 after acquiring an additional 960,832 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,542,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Weatherford International by 1,084.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 686,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,513,000 after acquiring an additional 628,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 103.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,165,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,772,000 after purchasing an additional 591,694 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Weatherford International from $83.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $164,465.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,739.25. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $95.80 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $93.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.78. Weatherford International PLC has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $110.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.19.

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

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Weatherford International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is 18.55%.

About Weatherford International

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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