Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 125,647 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 447,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125,647 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $43,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Weatherford International by 0.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 5,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WFRD. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Weatherford International from $138.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Benjamin Duster sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total transaction of $1,163,760.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,801 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,440.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $1,078,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 18,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,406.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin Duster sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total transaction of $1,163,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,801 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,440.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,455 shares of company stock worth $13,628,764 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.7 %

WFRD opened at $112.79 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $55.81 and a 12 month high of $127.45. The company has a market cap of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.58 and a 200 day moving average of $99.57.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.48. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 56.68% and a net margin of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

About Weatherford International

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.