Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 10.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,302 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,213 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth $1,353,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 36.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,419,000 after purchasing an additional 959,783 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its position in Weatherford International by 1.9% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 14,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in Weatherford International by 1,138.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 29,530 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Down 0.3 %

WFRD stock opened at $82.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.27. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $77.00 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.29.

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.