William Blair Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 635,479 shares of the company’s stock after selling 186,638 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.89% of Weatherford International worth $49,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 83.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 69.8% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 705 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $108.79 on Monday. Weatherford International PLC has a one year low of $42.75 and a one year high of $113.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.09.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 9.49%.The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International PLC will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WFRD. Weiss Ratings downgraded Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Weatherford International from $83.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.33.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.