Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Director Sells $1,357,440.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Neal Goldman sold 16,000 Weatherford International shares at an average price of $84.84, generating $1.36 million and reducing his direct ownership by 56.76% to 12,187 shares.
• Weatherford’s latest quarterly earnings missed analyst expectations, with EPS of $0.55 versus $0.90 expected, while revenue rose to $1.10 billion but declined 8.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, or $1.10 annualized, representing a 1.3% yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $113.44.

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) Director Neal Goldman sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $1,357,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,033,945.08. This represents a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $85.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 198,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,347,223. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Weatherford International PLC has a 52-week low of $52.70 and a 52-week high of $113.15. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.35). Weatherford International had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is 21.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $113.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 712.8% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,812,000 after buying an additional 1,443,512 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1,040.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,244,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,392,000 after buying an additional 1,135,338 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,399,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1,096.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 855,752 shares of the company's stock worth $66,971,000 after purchasing an additional 784,237 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 154.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,159,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,324,000 after buying an additional 703,401 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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