Inspire Investing LLC Acquires Shares of 7,488 Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $864,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 107.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 12,170 shares in the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 70,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,191,000 after buying an additional 16,945 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Weatherford International by 614.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 176,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,385,000 after buying an additional 151,897 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.6% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 63,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,305,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $134.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.66. The firm has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Weatherford International plc has a 1-year low of $72.57 and a 1-year high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 52.88% and a net margin of 8.61%. Weatherford International’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Weatherford International in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $152.50.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total value of $1,234,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,049.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.