Federated Hermes Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 117,457 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,868 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $8,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,555,000 after acquiring an additional 68,553 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter worth about $2,239,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 59.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its position in Weatherford International by 131.7% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 13,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after buying an additional 7,823 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth $571,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $40.12 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $36.74 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.37. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 87,930 shares of company stock worth $5,861,718. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.