Weatherford International PLC $WFRD Stock: Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Holdings

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 237,084 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,192 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.33% of Weatherford International worth $18,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the second quarter worth about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 32.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 65.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 31.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $86.69 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.81. Weatherford International PLC has a 52-week low of $68.49 and a 52-week high of $113.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.33. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.39%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a $0.2750 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 19.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $118.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Weatherford International from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $148.00 to $139.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $106.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.57.

Weatherford International Profile

Weatherford International plc is an energy services company that provides equipment, technology and services to oil and natural gas operators. Its offerings support multiple stages of the well lifecycle, including drilling and construction, formation evaluation, completion, production and well intervention. The company’s products and services include artificial-lift systems, drilling and well-construction technologies, completion tools, production optimization, and digital solutions for monitoring and managing operations.