Clearbridge Investments LLC Boosts Holdings in Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 638,395 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140,040 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $49,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 270.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 19,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 14,505 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 80.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 785,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,774,000 after buying an additional 349,214 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 822,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,257,000 after buying an additional 74,155 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 537,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,092,000 after buying an additional 234,989 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,367,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 6.0%

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $103.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 2.31. Weatherford International PLC has a one year low of $46.20 and a one year high of $113.15. The firm has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.82.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 28.31%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 17.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $134.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $83.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.67.

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.