New York State Common Retirement Fund Buys 138,983 Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 70.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 336,987 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 138,983 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.46% of Weatherford International worth $18,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $551,760,000 after buying an additional 270,775 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% in 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 in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,375,000 after buying an additional 298,811 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,638,934 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,657,000 after buying an additional 65,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,877,000 after buying an additional 144,396 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WFRD. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced 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 note on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.63.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 25,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ WFRD traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,078,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,817. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.76. Weatherford International PLC has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $134.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $50.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.08.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 35.88%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. Analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

About Weatherford International

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.