Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 26.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 949 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. SCP Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth about $360,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $497,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,309,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 189.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,670,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WFRD. Bank of America increased their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $150.75.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $84.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.11. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $82.16 and a one year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.08). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 49.69% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

Weatherford International 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.