Vest Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Weatherford by 14.4% during Q4, owning 100,302 shares valued at about $7.85 million (≈0.14% of the company) after buying an additional 12,619 shares.
• Weatherford reported an EPS beat of $1.49 vs. $1.02 expected and $1.15 billion in revenue (down 3.4% YoY); analysts carry a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $103.22.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share (annualized $1.10, ~1.0% yield), while CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares for about $10.55 million.

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,302 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,619 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Weatherford International worth $7,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WFRD. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 69.8% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at about $52,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $110.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's 50 day moving average is $97.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.61. Weatherford International PLC has a fifty-two week low of $40.80 and a fifty-two week high of $111.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 9.49%.The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is presently 17.21%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $114.00 to $111.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Weatherford International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Weatherford International from $83.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.22.

Weatherford International Company Profile

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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