Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Increases Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 282.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,556 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,055 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Weatherford International were worth $684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company's stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $571,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 39.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 63.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 461,790 shares of the company's stock worth $43,007,000 after acquiring an additional 179,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 94.2% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 175,369 shares of the company's stock worth $14,892,000 after acquiring an additional 85,080 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock traded up $1.73 on Friday, reaching $44.34. The stock had a trading volume of 730,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,111. The business's 50 day moving average is $49.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 16.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James lowered Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Finally, Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total value of $929,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $590,517.72. This represents a 61.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. This represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 43,425 shares of company stock worth $2,916,822. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.