400 Shares in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Purchased by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 643.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 11,606.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WFRD. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark lowered their price target 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.63.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $54.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.24. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $51.24 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its 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 return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Weatherford International Company 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.