Deutsche Bank AG Grows Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 2,351.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 130,576 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125,249 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $9,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,894,000 after purchasing an additional 4,443,823 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth $104,287,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,678,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 181.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,334,000 after buying an additional 840,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 728,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,166,000 after buying an additional 414,528 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 related news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $48.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.88. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $36.74 and a 12 month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark decreased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.63.

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.