Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,240,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the April 30th total of 2,710,000 shares. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This represents a 90.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,072 shares of the company's stock worth $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,730 shares of the company's stock worth $2,273,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 926 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 16,080 shares of the company's stock worth $861,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James cut shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.63.

Weatherford International Trading Up 3.3%

Weatherford International stock traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $48.37. The stock had a trading volume of 732,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,362. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $44.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $135.00. 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 (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. Analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.00%.

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.