Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 38,700 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 657,953 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.90% of Weatherford International worth $80,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Weatherford International by 31.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in Weatherford International by 8.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 1.1% in the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 11,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 50.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Weatherford International by 23.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on WFRD shares. Raymond James dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.88.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $92.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $82.16 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.06.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.08). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 49.69%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.18%.

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.