Vest Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 24,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,309,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at about $546,000. Amundi increased its stake in Weatherford International by 154.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,813,000 after buying an additional 23,685 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 500,005 shares of the company's stock worth $35,815,000 after acquiring an additional 43,182 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $7,215,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 280,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,093,000 after purchasing an additional 63,775 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman bought 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This represents a 90.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Weatherford International stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $52.23. 1,122,278 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,186,677. 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 cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $44.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.32. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $36.74 and a 12-month high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

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.