Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 88.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,802 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144,538 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 0.9% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 33,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 69.8% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total transaction of $10,550,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $164,465.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,739.25. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Down 0.0%

WFRD opened at $104.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.21. The company has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.79. Weatherford International PLC has a 1-year low of $36.74 and a 1-year high of $108.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 28.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.25.

Weatherford International 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.