Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 24.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,570 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,144 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Weatherford International worth $3,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the first quarter valued at $1,173,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 1st quarter worth $684,000. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 1st quarter valued at about $358,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 193.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 149,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,181,000 after purchasing an additional 98,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 21.9% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other news, Director Neal P. Goldman sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $1,357,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,033,945.08. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total value of $516,540.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WFRD. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of Weatherford International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $113.00 to $114.00 in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reduced 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 report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup decreased 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.56.

Weatherford International Trading Up 3.6%

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $87.79 on Friday. Weatherford International PLC has a 52-week low of $52.70 and a 52-week high of $113.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.71. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.35). Weatherford International had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. Weatherford International’s revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.70%.

Weatherford International 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.