Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Shares Sold by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. sold 50.4% of its shares in Weatherford International PLC, reducing its holdings to approximately $116.9 million.
• Weatherford announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, with an ex-dividend date of August 6th, representing a 1.7% dividend yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Weatherford, with an average target price of $99.70.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 50.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,183,855 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,218,978 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 3.01% of Weatherford International worth $116,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Weatherford International by 546.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Weatherford International by 30,600.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 614 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 55.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 645 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1,002.0% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Weatherford International during the first quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Weatherford International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.70.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD traded up $1.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.07. 720,868 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,302,653. The stock's fifty day moving average is $55.09 and its 200 day moving average is $52.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Weatherford International PLC has a one year low of $36.74 and a one year high of $106.62. The firm has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.77.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 34.87% and a net margin of 9.35%.The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is presently 15.48%.

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.