Short Interest in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Decreases By 16.7%

Key Points

• Short interest in Weatherford fell 16.7% in April to 4,142,428 shares, equal to 5.9% of the shares short and a short-interest ratio of 3.7 days based on average daily volume.
• CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares on Feb. 6 for about $10.55 million; insiders own 2.09% of the stock while institutional investors hold roughly 97.23%.
• Weatherford beat estimates with quarterly EPS of $1.49 and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 (annualized $1.10, ~1.0% yield); analysts’ consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $103.22.

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,142,428 shares, a decrease of 16.7% from the March 31st total of 4,970,139 shares. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,106,805 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Weatherford International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.22.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Weatherford International stock opened at $110.35 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $97.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.91. Weatherford International has a one year low of $41.20 and a one year high of $112.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 9.49%.The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.21%.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International NASDAQ: WFRD is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.

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