Sei Investments Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 193.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,935 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,882 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.21% of Weatherford International worth $14,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WFRD. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 712.8% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,512 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1,040.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,244,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,338 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth about $61,399,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1,096.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 855,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,971,000 after buying an additional 784,237 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 154.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,159,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,324,000 after buying an additional 703,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD stock opened at $84.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $91.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.77. Weatherford International PLC has a 52-week low of $52.70 and a 52-week high of $113.15. The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.86. 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 earnings results 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 net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.35 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total value of $516,540.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $963,088.83. This represents a 34.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Neal P. Goldman sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 $1,033,945.08. The trade was a 56.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.07% 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.