Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Purchased by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,455 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,593 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Weatherford International worth $5,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth $571,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 59.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 11,680 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth about $546,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1,138.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 29,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 643.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on WFRD shares. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of 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 cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $54.23 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a 1-year low of $52.10 and a 1-year high of $135.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.07, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.33.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.