Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Purchases 23,886 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 161,065 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,886 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Weatherford International worth $11,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,443,823 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth about $104,287,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth about $65,678,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 181.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company's stock worth $93,334,000 after buying an additional 840,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 728,266 shares of the company's stock worth $52,166,000 after buying an additional 414,528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $47.59 on Tuesday. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $47.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.47. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 16.00%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,074.44. This represents a 90.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on 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, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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