Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Director Benjamin Duster Sells 6,000 Shares

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total value of $516,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,088.83. This represents a 34.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of WFRD opened at $83.58 on Wednesday. Weatherford International PLC has a 52-week low of $52.70 and a 52-week high of $113.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $92.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 21.50% and a net margin of 7.66%.Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research cut Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.44.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 83.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.