Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,077,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 190.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 926 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WFRD. Piper Sandler dropped 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of 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 shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.63.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the firm'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 acquisition, the director now owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD stock traded down $0.16 on Tuesday, hitting $47.43. 81,930 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,157,645. 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 has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $36.74 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.10 and a 200 day moving average of $63.47.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

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.