Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,986,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WFRD. Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 74,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,306,000 after acquiring an additional 9,705 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 287.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,715 shares of the company's stock worth $2,418,000 after buying an additional 18,330 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Weatherford International by 1,564.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 281,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,398,000 after acquiring an additional 264,284 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $738,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WFRD stock traded up $0.52 on Thursday, hitting $110.93. 595,342 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 814,632. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.73. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $55.81 and a one year high of $127.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $111.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 56.68%. The company's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total value of $6,214,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 146,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,213,915.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total value of $6,214,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 146,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,213,915.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,404.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $12,365,629.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,455 shares of company stock worth $13,628,764 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James boosted their target price on Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TheStreet raised shares of Weatherford International from a "c" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays initiated coverage on Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $138.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $131.00.

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.