Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Position Raised by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 63.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 461,790 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 179,064 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $43,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.50.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.9 %

Weatherford International stock opened at $71.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $71.13 and a 12-month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Weatherford International 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.