Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Director Purchases $504,480.00 in Stock

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Weatherford International Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of WFRD stock traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.73. 1,438,123 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,139,188. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $49.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. The business 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%. Research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in Weatherford International by 15.1% during the first quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 284,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,238,000 after purchasing an additional 37,410 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,046,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,041,000 after buying an additional 318,254 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 1,002.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 326.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 70.2% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 336,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,046,000 after acquiring an additional 138,983 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.