Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Short Interest Update

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,080,000 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the March 31st total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,361.49. The trade was a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,425 shares of company stock worth $2,916,822 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Weatherford International by 190.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 546.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 645 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WFRD. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark cut their target price 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. Raymond James downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD traded down $0.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.82. 582,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,140,736. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Weatherford International has a 1-year low of $36.74 and a 1-year high of $135.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.35, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.