Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,080,000 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the March 31st total of 2,480,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. The trade was a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 43,425 shares of company stock valued at $2,916,822. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth $571,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at about $546,000. Amundi lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 154.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after buying an additional 23,685 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 500,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,815,000 after buying an additional 43,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,215,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $44.73 on Friday. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.21 and a 200-day moving average of $66.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 6.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark lowered 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.75.

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.