Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) is Atlantic Investment Management Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

Atlantic Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 55.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 438,109 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 157,000 shares during the quarter. Weatherford International accounts for approximately 15.2% of Atlantic Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.60% of Weatherford International worth $31,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Alden Global Capital LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 113.8% during the 4th quarter. Alden Global Capital LLC now owns 22,268 shares of the company's stock worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 11,855 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 669,040 shares of the company's stock worth $47,923,000 after acquiring an additional 159,160 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 181.7% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,334,000 after purchasing an additional 840,456 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company's stock worth $315,375,000 after purchasing an additional 298,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth $560,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WFRD. Raymond James downgraded Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.75.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD stock traded up $2.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.75. 472,393 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,143,633. 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 plc has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.09 and a 200 day moving average of $65.47. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $590,517.72. This trade represents a 61.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Neal P. Goldman bought 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 43,425 shares of company stock worth $2,916,822. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Weatherford International 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.