Sapience Investments LLC Has $280,000 Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Sapience Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,913 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,205 shares during the quarter. Sapience Investments LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after buying an additional 11,680 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 26,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 15,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $48.48 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.63.

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.