Empowered Funds LLC Buys 24,637 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 95,190 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,637 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $6,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 36.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $67.90 on Tuesday. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $60.45 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares in the company, valued at $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.