Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 347,584 Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in Weatherford International PLC by 4.5%, bringing its total ownership to 11.10% of the company, valued at approximately $431 million.
• Weatherford International recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, expected to yield 1.8% annually, with a low payout ratio of 15.48%.
• Weatherford's earnings per share beat analysts' expectations for the last quarter, reporting $1.87 compared to a consensus of $0.97, despite a 14.3% drop in revenue year-over-year.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,050,495 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 347,584 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.10% of Weatherford International worth $431,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in 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 period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 181.7% in 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 482,352 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 907,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,011,000 after buying an additional 393,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 135.2% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 585,398 shares of the company's stock worth $41,932,000 after purchasing an additional 336,504 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD traded down $1.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.29. 627,686 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,048,867. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.77. Weatherford International PLC has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $111.23. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $54.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.72. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 15.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.63.

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.