Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $53.77 Million Holdings in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 80.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 785,828 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 349,214 shares during the period. Weatherford International makes up 0.2% of Gotham Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $53,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 4.2% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 143,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,833,000 after buying an additional 5,788 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 475,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,555,000 after acquiring an additional 110,110 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 347.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 39,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after acquiring an additional 30,532 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 148,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,139,000 after acquiring an additional 62,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $86.53 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Weatherford International PLC has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $110.57.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.07% and a net margin of 8.76%.The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 18.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WFRD. Wall Street Zen cut Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.50.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total transaction of $10,550,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About Weatherford International

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.