Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $46.90 Million Investment in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 599,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,899,000. Weatherford International comprises 1.9% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 83.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $94.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.82. Weatherford International PLC has a one year low of $46.20 and a one year high of $113.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.73.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 28.31%. Weatherford International’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Weatherford International PLC will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 17.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WFRD shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $83.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.67.

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.