State of Michigan Retirement System Buys 500 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,800 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 189.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 539.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 145.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 312 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total value of $1,234,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,041,049.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WFRD shares. Raymond James raised their target price on Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Weatherford International from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $151.88.

Weatherford International Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $125.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.64. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $63.41 and a 1 year high of $129.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 52.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.