Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 67.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,201,544 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 482,352 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.65% of Weatherford International worth $64,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WFRD. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at approximately $445,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 55.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 645 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at approximately $419,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 23.2% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 154.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 23,685 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD traded down $2.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $53.71. 644,723 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,186,322. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.76. Weatherford International PLC has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company's 50-day moving average price is $49.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.22.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 35.88%. On average, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.63.

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.