OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Takes Position in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 12,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,033,945.08. The trade was a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total transaction of $516,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $963,088.83. The trade was a 34.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $82.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.80. Weatherford International PLC has a 12 month low of $52.70 and a 12 month high of $113.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 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.