Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $2.78 Million Position in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,977 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,981 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Weatherford International worth $2,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,168,000. Avos Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 18.5% during the first quarter. Avos Capital Management LLC now owns 21,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,365 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 2.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,485,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,562,000 after purchasing an additional 29,840 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 34.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 122.8% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 4,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.70.

Weatherford International Stock Up 6.1%

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $60.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77. Weatherford International PLC has a one year low of $36.74 and a one year high of $111.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 34.87% and a net margin of 9.35%.Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.48%.

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.