Jane Street Group LLC Sells 78,362 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Jane Street Group LLC cut its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 353,415 shares of the company's stock after selling 78,362 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.49% of Weatherford International worth $25,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company's stock worth $551,760,000 after buying an additional 270,775 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 295.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,894,000 after acquiring an additional 4,443,823 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,375,000 after purchasing an additional 298,811 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,638,934 shares of the company's stock worth $260,657,000 after purchasing an additional 65,931 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company's stock worth $198,877,000 after purchasing an additional 144,396 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.07. 1,765,395 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,155,950. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.86, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.82.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,074.44. The trade was 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 hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 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, Raymond James 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.75.

Weatherford International Company 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.