First Trust Advisors LP Grows Holdings in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,760,467 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 194,654 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $166,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Weatherford International by 223.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 122,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,568,000 after buying an additional 84,684 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Weatherford International by 129.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 143,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,695,000 after acquiring an additional 81,046 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter worth about $258,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 26.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Weatherford International

Here are the key news stories impacting Weatherford International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Weatherford announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, signaling continued shareholder returns and cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: The company said it will acquire NCS Multistage in a stock-and-cash deal, which should expand its well completions portfolio and broaden its growth opportunities. Weatherford Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Weatherford also highlighted $36 million in quarterly shareholder returns, including $20 million in dividends and $16 million in share repurchases, which may support the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management introduced an updated plan to redomesticate from Ireland to Delaware, a longer-term corporate move that could reshape the investment case but does not have an immediate operating impact.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also won several Managed Pressure Drilling contracts, providing additional backlog and activity, though the near-term financial impact appears limited.
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings came in at $0.55 per share, well below estimates, and net income fell sharply year over year, underscoring pressure on profitability. How Mixed Q2 Results, Buybacks, and NCS Deal At Weatherford (WFRD) Have Changed Its Investment Story
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of about $1.1 billion was down sequentially, and the company’s own Q3 and full-year revenue guidance appears to be below or only around consensus, which may temper enthusiasm after the report.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $87.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.13 and its 200 day moving average is $95.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Weatherford International PLC has a 52-week low of $52.70 and a 52-week high of $113.15.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 21.86% and a net margin of 7.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 21.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research lowered Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.78.

Weatherford International Company Profile

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.