Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Position Reduced by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP cut its Weatherford International stake by 13% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,593 shares and leaving it with 111,125 shares worth about $8.7 million.
• Weatherford reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.49 per share on revenue of $1.15 billion, beating analyst EPS estimates by a wide margin. Revenue was slightly above expectations, though still down 3.4% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, and analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.33.

Royce & Associates LP lowered its stake in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,125 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,593 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.15% of Weatherford International worth $8,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1.8% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,673,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,245,000 after buying an additional 98,663 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 712.8% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,812,000 after buying an additional 1,443,512 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 43.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,572,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,601,000 after buying an additional 476,575 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 4.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,301,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,068,000 after buying an additional 57,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 103.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,165,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,772,000 after buying an additional 591,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.1%

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $103.88 on Friday. Weatherford International PLC has a 1-year low of $42.75 and a 1-year high of $113.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $101.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.05.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 28.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Weatherford International's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on WFRD shares. Barclays upped their price target on Weatherford International from $111.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Weatherford International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.33.

About Weatherford International

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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