Keybank National Association OH Raises Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 45.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,884 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Weatherford International by 643.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 11,606.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Up 3.5 %

WFRD opened at $56.11 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $67.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $52.10 and a one year high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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 Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.