First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 94.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,422 shares of the company's stock after selling 200,579 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Weatherford International were worth $890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth about $286,000. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 95.1% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 4,245 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,454 shares of the company's stock worth $4,114,000 after purchasing an additional 26,105 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 20,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,483,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Weatherford International by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 926 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 1.0%

Weatherford International stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.04. 265,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,154,530. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $47.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.41.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WFRD. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. 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, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.