Insider Selling: Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) EVP Sells $929,740.00 in Stock

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total transaction of $929,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $590,517.72. This represents a 61.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD opened at $67.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.04. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $60.45 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of 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. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Benchmark reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.25.

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.