Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes Position in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 21,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,736,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 64,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $739,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 9.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 89.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 18,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,785,000 after purchasing an additional 8,925 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $95.88 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.44. Weatherford International PLC has a 12-month low of $60.23 and a 12-month high of $113.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.35). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 21.50% and a net margin of 7.66%.The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $113.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jacqueline C. Mutschler sold 4,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $370,507.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,632,916.50. This trade represents a 12.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin Duster, IV sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total transaction of $516,540.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $963,088.83. This represents a 34.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 26,094 shares of company stock valued at $2,244,487 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.08% 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.