Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 1,397 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,699 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Weatherford International by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 190.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total value of $929,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $590,517.72. The trade was a 61.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark dropped their target price 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $97.00 to $73.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.75.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.8 %

WFRD stock opened at $44.28 on Thursday. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 6.59, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.31.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

About Weatherford International

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.