Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 599,274 Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 599,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,899,000. Weatherford International makes up about 1.9% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.84% of Weatherford International as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $94.15 on Thursday. Weatherford International PLC has a 12-month low of $46.20 and a 12-month high of $113.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $104.16 and its 200 day moving average is $94.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.82.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 28.31%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International PLC will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WFRD shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.67.

Weatherford International Profile

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.