Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Penn Capital Management Company LLC

Penn Capital Management Company LLC lessened its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,327 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,819 shares during the quarter. Weatherford International comprises about 1.3% of Penn Capital Management Company LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned 0.25% of Weatherford International worth $13,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth $571,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth about $546,000. Amundi raised its stake in Weatherford International by 154.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 23,685 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 500,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,815,000 after purchasing an additional 43,182 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,215,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $1,311,381.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFRD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.75.

Weatherford International Trading Up 5.6 %

NASDAQ WFRD traded up $2.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.46. 907,430 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,500,677. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The business's 50 day moving average is $51.06 and its 200-day moving average is $67.43. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $36.74 and a 12-month high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

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.