Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Buys Shares of 38,883 Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 38,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,785,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. owned 0.05% of Weatherford International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,723,000 after buying an additional 204,317 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 6,264 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,818,000 after buying an additional 24,637 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 114.5% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 3,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.25.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $67.63 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.04. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $60.45 and a 12-month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related 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 value of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. This trade represents a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $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.