Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Bought by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 200.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 61,654 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,166 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $6,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the second quarter worth about $25,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter worth about $30,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,404.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,365,629.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,404.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,365,629.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total value of $6,214,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,213,915.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,455 shares of company stock valued at $13,628,764. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Weatherford International from $138.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TheStreet upgraded Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $131.00.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD stock traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.90. The company had a trading volume of 243,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 806,921. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $55.81 and a fifty-two week high of $127.45.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 56.68% and a net margin of 8.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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.