Norges Bank Invests $61.40 Million in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Norges Bank bought a new position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 784,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,399,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.09% of Weatherford International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 69.8% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $97.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 2.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $103.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.29. Weatherford International PLC has a 52 week low of $46.20 and a 52 week high of $113.15.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 9.49%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 17.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Weatherford International from $83.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.67.

About Weatherford International

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.