Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Holdings Decreased by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 40.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,099 shares of the company's stock after selling 71,831 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Weatherford International worth $7,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Weatherford International by 1.0% during 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 grew its position in Weatherford International by 0.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Weatherford International by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 926 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Weatherford International by 190.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WFRD. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.75.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $43.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.47.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.00%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total transaction of $929,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $590,517.72. This trade represents a 61.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This represents a 90.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,425 shares of company stock worth $2,916,822 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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