CenterBook Partners LP Decreases Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

CenterBook Partners LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 54.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,241 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP owned approximately 0.09% of Weatherford International worth $4,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $7,215,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 10,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 32,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 813,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,303,000 after purchasing an additional 167,090 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,287,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $45.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.51 and a 200 day moving average of $71.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. As a group, research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.88%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,361.49. The trade was a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,835.04. This represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WFRD. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.75.

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.