Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Short Interest Update

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,240,000 shares, a growth of 19.6% from the April 30th total of 2,710,000 shares. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $46.83 on Friday. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.03 and a 200-day moving average of $60.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 0.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1.4% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 16,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.